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24 February 2021 / Alexander Layton KC , Andrew Dinsmore
Issue: 7922 / Categories: Features , Brexit , EU , Commercial
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Cross-border civil litigation: the new normal

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Alexander Layton QC & Andrew Dinsmore examine the post-Brexit landscape for jurisdiction and enforcement of foreign judgments
  • An overview of the rules relating to civil and commercial matters in England and Wales following the UK’s departure from the EU.
  • Jurisdiction of the English courts is now generally governed by the rules which have hitherto applied to non-European cases.
  • Foreign judgments can only be enforced by an action at common law or under CPR 74.

Although the UK officially left the EU on 31 January 2020, Article 67 of the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement 2019 meant that Regulation (EU) 1215/2012, Brussels I (recast) continued to apply to civil and commercial proceedings commenced prior to the end of the transition period (namely, 31 December 2020).

The transition period has now ended without any deal between the UK and EU on civil justice, with the consequence that the EU’s rules on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments no longer apply.

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