The Recast Brussels I Regulation – Changes For EU Cross-Border Litigation

Since 1968, the Brussels Convention, later the 2001 Brussels I Regulation, has played an important role in determining jurisdiction and how judgments are recognised and enforced in cross-border civil and commercial proceedings within the EU. The Regulation has undergone a recent spring clean and the Recast Brussels I Regulation applies from 10 January 2015.

While general principles remain largely the same, the Recast Regulation seeks to make EU cross-border litigation more efficient, widens its scope, and addresses a tactic defendants use to delay cross-border litigation. Some highlights of the Recast Regulation are set out below.

Location, Location, Location...

The 2001 Brussels I Regulation's (the "Regulation") general principles regarding jurisdiction are preserved in the The Recast Brussels I Regulation (the "Recast Regulation"). The general principle remains that parties may mutually agree, by written agreement, which EU jurisdiction will hear disputes