header-logo header-logo

24 February 2021 / Alexander Layton KC , Andrew Dinsmore
Issue: 7922 / Categories: Features , Brexit , EU , Commercial
printer mail-detail

Cross-border civil litigation: the new normal

40726
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.

This article

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

Thackray Williams—Lucy Zhu

Thackray Williams—Lucy Zhu

Dual-qualified partner joins as head of commercial property department

Morgan Lewis—David A. McManus

Morgan Lewis—David A. McManus

Firm announces appointment of next chair

Burges Salmon—Rebecca Wilsker

Burges Salmon—Rebecca Wilsker

Director joins corporate team from the US

NEWS
What safeguards apply when trust corporations are appointed as deputy by the Court of Protection? 
Disputing parties are expected to take part in alternative dispute resolution (ADR), where this is suitable for their case. At what point, however, does refusing to participate cross the threshold of ‘unreasonable’ and attract adverse costs consequences?
When it comes to free legal advice, demand massively outweighs supply. 'Millions of people are excluded from access to justice as they don’t have anywhere to turn for free advice—or don’t know that they can ask for help,' Bhavini Bhatt, development director at the Access to Justice Foundation, writes in this week's NLJ
When an ex-couple is deciding who gets what in the divorce or civil partnership dissolution, when is it appropriate for a third party to intervene? David Burrows, NLJ columnist and solicitor advocate, considers this thorny issue in this week’s NLJ
NLJ's latest Charities Appeals Supplement has been published in this week’s issue
back-to-top-scroll