Simplifying Access to Justice in Cross-Border Litigation, the National Practices and the Limits of the EU Procedures. The Example of the Service of Documents in the Order for Payment Claims

Over the years, a number of regulations were adopted at EU level in an attempt to facilitate and simplify access to justice in cross-border litigation. Despite the various actions undertaken by the European legislator to establish a uniform procedural framework with regard to certain types of cross-border claims, numerous differences continue to exist. The recent efforts to digitalize cross-border procedures through the e-Codex project in order to allow an electronic filing of European uniform procedures claims between Member States have raised awareness as to the complexity and the impact of national procedural rules on the application of the European uniform procedures. Empirical data on the service of documents rules applicable in the European Order for Payments claims as well as domestic procedures used for equivalent purposes was collected in 16 EU jurisdictions. This paper investigates the way the implementation and coordination between the national service of documents rules and the service standards set by the Regulation impact on the application of the European Order for Payment and, subsequently, on the parties’ access to justice. To conclude, the paper focuses on the possible solutions and actions that could mitigate the difficulties encountered in the present legal framework.