header-logo header-logo

Home Login E-newsletter About us
27 April 2007 / Richard Frimston
Issue: 7270 / Categories: Features , Public , Constitutional law
printer mail-detail

Brussels 4 U

© Copyright LexisNexis 2026. All Rights Reserved.

Is private international law due to meet
its Waterloo? asks Richard Frimston

From 14 November 2007 Eurostar trains from Brussels Midi will no longer arrive at Waterloo, but terminate instead at St Pancras International. With similar ineluctability, the EU white paper—Succession and Wills (Brussels IV) will arrive in 2008 and probably be in force by 2011. Parliament and the Civil Service in England are still attempting to argue that it should never have set off in the first place.

The European Commission has always encouraged the free movement of goods, services and people, and thus mobility of European citizens. In 1999, European ministers agreed that mutual recognition of judicial decisions was one of their three priorities for action and it is now the cornerstone of judicial co-operation in both civil and criminal matters.

Franco Frattini, vice president of the Commission and responsible for justice, freedom and security, said in a press release in February 2005:

“In a Europe without internal frontiers where individuals are free to travel and settle where they wish, buy

If you are not a subscriber, subscribe now to read this content
If you are already a subscriber sign in
...or Register for two weeks' free access to subscriber content

MOVERS & SHAKERS

Read All
Sponsored by
London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

London Solicitors Litigation Association—John McElroy

Fieldfisher partner appointed president as LSLA marks milestone year

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Kingsley Napley—Kirsty Churm & Olivia Stiles

Firm promotes two lawyers to partnership across employment and family

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Foot Anstey—five promotions

Firm promotes five lawyers to partnership across key growth areas

NEWS
Read All
NLJ this week: Divorce ‘nuclear weapon’ freezes assets but entangles outsiders
Freezing orders in divorce proceedings can unexpectedly ensnare third parties and disrupt businesses. In NLJ this week, Lucy James of Trowers & Hamlins explains how these orders—dubbed a ‘nuclear weapon’—preserve assets but can extend far beyond spouses to companies and business partners 
NLJ this week: What counts as ‘rent’? Court says labour alone won’t do
A Court of Appeal ruling has clarified that ‘rent’ must be monetary—excluding tenants paid in labour from statutory protection. In this week's NLJ, James Naylor explains Garraway v Phillips, where a tenant worked two days a week instead of paying rent
Your magistrates’ court needs you!
Thousands more magistrates are to be recruited, under a major shake-up to speed up and expand the hiring process
NLJ this week: Freed but failed—justice system leaves the innocent empty-handed
Three men wrongly imprisoned for a combined 77 years have been released—yet received ‘not a penny’ in compensation, exposing deep flaws in the justice system. Writing in NLJ this week, Dr Jon Robins reports on Justin Plummer, Oliver Campbell and Peter Sullivan, whose convictions collapsed amid discredited forensics, ‘oppressive’ police interviews and unreliable ‘cell confessions’
NLJ this week: Clarity on whistleblowing, settlements and tribunal limits
A quiet month for employment cases still delivers key legal clarifications. In his latest Employment Law Brief for NLJ, Ian Smith reports that whistleblowing protection remains intact even where disclosures are partly self-serving, provided the worker reasonably believes they serve the ‘public interest’ 
Copyright © 2026 LexisNexis
back-to-top-scroll