BETA


2013/0268(COD) Jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters: rules to be applied with respect to the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice

Progress: Procedure completed

RoleCommitteeRapporteurShadows
Lead JURI ZWIEFKA Tadeusz (icon: PPE PPE) RAPKAY Bernhard (icon: S&D S&D), THEIN Alexandra (icon: ALDE ALDE)
Committee Opinion EMPL
Lead committee dossier:
Legal Basis:
TFEU 081-p2, TFEU 67-p4

Events

2014/07/09
   EC - Commission response to text adopted in plenary
Documents
2014/05/29
   Final act published in Official Journal
Details

PURPOSE: to amend Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (the ‘Brussels I Regulation’).

LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) n° 542/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 as regards the rules to be applied with respect to the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice

CONTENT: the aim of this amending Regulation is to allow the rules of the Brussels I Regulation to be applied by two courts common to several Member States: the Unified Patent Court established on 19 February 2013 by an Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC Agreement) and the Benelux Court of Justice.

· The UPC Agreement provides for its entry into force not prior to the first day of the fourth month after the date of entry into force of the amendments to the Brussels I Regulation concerning the relationship of that Regulation with the UPC Agreement.

· On 15 October 2012, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, parties to the Treaty of 31 March 1965 concerning the establishment and statute of a Benelux Court of Justice, signed a Protocol amending that Treaty. That Protocol made it possible to transfer jurisdiction to the Benelux Court of Justice in specific matters falling within the scope of the Brussels I Regulation.

Accordingly, the amendments made aim to regulate the relationship of the Brussels I Regulation with the UPC Agreement and with the Benelux Court of Justice Treaty by way of amendments to that Regulation.

The new Regulation provides that the jurisdiction of a common court shall be determined as follows:

1) A common court shall have jurisdiction where, under this Regulation, the courts of a Member State party to the instrument establishing the common court would have jurisdiction in a matter governed by that instrument.

2) To allow the two Courts to exercise jurisdiction with respect to defendants not domiciled in a Member State, the rules of the Brussels I Regulation will, with regard to matters falling within the jurisdiction of, respectively, the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice, also apply to defendants domiciled in third States. The existing rules of jurisdiction of Brussels I are extended to proceedings against all defendants regardless of their domicile.

Application may be made to a common court for provisional, including protective, measures even if the courts of a third State have jurisdiction as to the substance of the matter;

3) Lastly, where a common court has jurisdiction over a defendant domiciled in a third State in a dispute relating to an infringement of a European patent giving rise to damage within the Union, that court may also exercise jurisdiction in relation to damage arising outside the Union from such an infringement. Such jurisdiction may only be established if property belonging to the defendant is located in any Member State party to the instrument establishing the common court and the dispute has a sufficient connection with any such Member State.

The new Regulation also deals with the rules on the recognition and enforcement of judgements between Member States party to an instrument establishing a common court and Member states not party to such instruments.

The United Kingdom and Ireland have notified their wish to take part in the adoption and application of this Regulation. Denmark will not take part in it.

ENTRY INTO FORCE: 30.05.2014. The Regulation will apply from 10.01.2015.

2014/05/15
   CSL - Draft final act
Documents
2014/05/15
   CSL - Final act signed
2014/05/15
   EP - End of procedure in Parliament
2014/05/06
   EP/CSL - Act adopted by Council after Parliament's 1st reading
2014/05/06
   CSL - Council Meeting
2014/04/15
   EP - Results of vote in Parliament
2014/04/15
   EP - Decision by Parliament, 1st reading
Details

The European Parliament adopted by 583 votes to 98, with 17 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.

Parliament adopted its position at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure. The amendments adopted in plenary were the result of a compromise between Parliament and Council. They amend the Commission’s proposal as follows:

To recap, the Brussels I Recast Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012) on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters was adopted on 12 December 2012. It will enter into application on 10 January 2015. That reform brought about a number of important changes, including the abolition of the exequatur procedure, ensuring an easier enforcement procedure in other Member States.

The amendments adopted in plenary amended the Commission proposal as follows:

Purpose of the amendments : the amendments would seek to regulate the relationship between the Brussels I Regulation and the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC) and the Treaty on the Benelux Court of Justice. They are intended to establish the international jurisdiction of that Court and do not affect the internal allocation of proceedings among the divisions of that Court nor the arrangements laid down in the UPC Agreement concerning the exercise of jurisdiction, including exclusive jurisdiction, during the transitional period provided for in that Agreement.

International jurisdiction : Parliament and the Council clarified certain points as regards the determination of the jurisdiction of a common court.

For the purposes of this Regulation, each of the following courts shall be a common court:

the Unified Patent Court established by the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court signed on 19 February 2013 (the “UPC Agreement”); and the Benelux Court of Justice established by the Treaty of 31 March 1965 concerning the establishment and statute of a Benelux Court of Justice (the “Benelux Court of Justice Treaty”).

To allow those two Courts to exercise jurisdiction with respect to defendants not domiciled in a Member State, the rules of the Brussels I Regulation should therefore, with regard to matters falling within the jurisdiction of, respectively, the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice, also apply to defendants domiciled in third States . The existing rules of jurisdiction of the Brussels I Regulation should be extended to proceedings against all defendants regardless of their domicile.

Application may be made to a common court for provisional, including protective, measures even if the courts of a third State have jurisdiction as to the substance of the matter.

According to the amended text, a common court should have jurisdiction over a defendant from a third country in a dispute relating to an infringement of a European patent giving rise to damage within the Union, that court may also exercise jurisdiction in relation to damage arising outside the Union from such an infringement .

Such jurisdiction may only be established if property belonging to the defendant is located in any Member State party to the instrument establishing the common court and the dispute has a sufficient connection with any such Member State.

Recognition and enforcement : this Regulation should apply to the recognition and enforcement of:

judgments given by a common court which are to be recognised and enforced in a Member State not party to the instrument establishing the common court; and judgments given by the courts of a Member State not party to the instrument establishing the common court which are to be recognised and enforced in a Member State party to that instrument.

However, where recognition and enforcement of a judgment given by a common court is sought in a Member State party to the instrument establishing the common court, any rules of that instrument on recognition and enforcement should apply instead of the rules of the Brussels I Regulation.

Documents
2014/03/03
   CSL - Council Meeting
2014/02/26
   ESC - Economic and Social Committee: opinion, report
Documents
2014/01/27
   EP - Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading
Details

The Legal Affairs Committee adopted the report by Tadeusz ZWIEFKA (EPP, PL) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.

To recap, the Brussels I Recast Regulation on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters was adopted on 12 December 2012. It will enter into application on 10 January 2015. That reform brought about a number of important changes, including the abolition of the exequatur procedure, ensuring an easier enforcement procedure in other Member States.

The parliamentary committee recommended that the position adopted by the European Parliament at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure amend the Commission’s proposal as follows:

Unified Patent Court : in view of the importance of the future Unified Patent Court, it is proposed that it be mentioned in the recitals of the Brussels I Regulation.

Purpose of the amendments : a recital stated that the internal distribution of tasks in the court is not covered by the changes to the Brussels I Recast.

The report clarified some points on determining the competence of a common jurisdiction:

1) Members proposed that the common court should be able to hear disputes involving defendants from third States in the specific case of a Union claimant bringing proceedings against a third-State defendant before a common court relating to an infringement of a European patent giving rise to damage both inside and outside the Union .

Where a common court has jurisdiction over a defendant in a dispute relating to an infringement of a European patent giving rise to damage within the Union, that court may also have jurisdiction in relation to damage arising outside the Union from such an infringement. Such jurisdiction may only be established if property belonging to the defendant is located in one or more Member States which are parties to the agreement establishing the common court and the dispute has a sufficient connection with one or more of those Member States.

By this amendment, Members seek to clarify that all Member States party to the agreement are to be considered to constitute a single legal area for the assessment of the existence of connecting factors.

2) Members also stipulated that where an agreement establishing a common court contains special provisions on recognition and enforcement of a decision , these provisions will apply instead of the general rules of the Brussels I Regulation as between the Member States parties.

Finally, it is proposed that this Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union and shall apply from 10 January 2015.

Documents
2014/01/21
   EP - Vote in committee, 1st reading
2013/12/13
   EP - Committee draft report
Documents
2013/12/06
   CSL - Debate in Council
Details

The Council agreed on a general approach on a proposal for a regulation amending Regulation 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Recast).

On 19 February 2013, 25 Member States signed an Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC) . The creation of such a court was made necessary by the adoption of two regulations with a view to implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection and its translation arrangements.

The main objective of the proposal is to regulate the relationship between Regulation 1215/2012 and the UPC Agreement, it also takes into account the existence of the Benelux Court of Justice and the international jurisdiction to be exercised by that Court in specific matters which are covered by Regulation 1215/2012.

The main amendments introduced by the general approach were as follows:

The Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice should be considered common courts within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 in order to ensure legal certainty and predictability for defendants who may be sued before those two courts at a location situated in a Member State other than the one designated by the rules of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012. The common court shall have jurisdiction where, under this Regulation, the courts of a Member State party to the agreement establishing the common court would have jurisdiction in a matter governed by that agreement. Where the defendant is not domiciled in a Member State, and this Regulation does not otherwise confer jurisdiction over him, provisions of the Regulation 1215/2012 shall apply as appropriate regardless of the defendant's domicile . Where a common court has jurisdiction over a defendant in a dispute relating to an infringement of a European patent giving rise to damage within the Union , that court may also have jurisdiction in relation to damage arising outside the Union from such an infringement.

Such jurisdiction may only be established if property belonging to the defendant is located in a Member State party to the agreement establishing the common court.

The rules of this Regulation shall apply to the recognition and enforcement of : judgments given by a common court which are to be recognised and enforced in a Member State not party to the agreement establishing the common court; and judgments given by the courts of a Member State not party to the agreement establishing the common court which are to be recognised and enforced in a Member State party to that agreement. The rules of this Regulation shall not apply to the recognition and enforcement of judgments given by a common court where such recognition and enforcement is sought in a Member State party to the agreement establishing the common court.

It should be noted that the United Kingdom and Ireland have notified their wish to take part in the adoption and application of this Regulation. Denmark is not taking part in the adoption of this Regulation and is not bound by it or subject to its application.

This general approach will constitute the basis for negotiations with the European Parliament in order to agree the final text of the regulation.

Documents
2013/12/06
   CSL - Council Meeting
2013/11/21
   RO_CHAMBER - Contribution
Documents
2013/11/14
   ES_PARLIAMENT - Contribution
Documents
2013/11/05
   PT_PARLIAMENT - Contribution
Documents
2013/10/08
   EP - Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading
2013/09/17
   EP - ZWIEFKA Tadeusz (PPE) appointed as rapporteur in JURI
2013/07/26
   EC - Legislative proposal
Details

PURPOSE: to amend Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 (the so-called Brussels I Regulation) on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Brussels I Regulation (recast)), recasting Regulation (EC) No 44/2001, was adopted. Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 will enter into application on 10 January 2015.

In December 2012, an agreement was reached on the so-called “patent package”:

two Regulations on the unified patent ( Regulation (EU) No 1257/2012 and Regulation (EU) No 1260/2012 ). These were adopted in enhanced cooperation involving 25 Member States (all Member States except Italy and Spain); and an international Agreement (the "Unified Patent Court Agreement" or "UPC Agreement") , laying the ground for the creation of unitary patent protection in the European Union. This was signed on 19 Februrary 2013 by the majority of Member States.

Article 89(1) of the UPC Agreement provides that the Agreement cannot enter into force prior to the entry into force of the amendments to the Brussels I Regulation (recast) regulating the relationship between both instruments.

On 15 October 2012, the three Member States (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) who are Contracting Parties to the Treaty of 31 March 1965 concerning the establishment and statute of a Benelux Court of Justice signed a Protocol modifying the said Treaty creating the possibility to extend the competences of the Benelux Court of Justice to include jurisdictional competences in specific matters which come within the scope of the Brussels I Regulation.

As a result, similar to the UPC Agreement, the Protocol to the Benelux Treaty requires an amendment to the Brussels I Regulation (recast) with the aim (i) to ensure compliance between the revised Treaty and the Brussels I Regulation (recast), and (ii) to address the lack of common jurisdiction rules vis-à-vis defendants in non-European Union States.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the matter of jurisdictional rules vis-à-vis State defendants was extensively assessed in the Commission's impact assessment accompanying the legislative proposal amending Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters ("Brussels I"). The conclusions of that assessment are a fortiori relevant for the limited harmonisation foreseen in this proposal.

LEGAL BASIS: Article 67(4) and points (a), (c) and (e) of Article 81(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

CONTENT: this proposal aims, firstly, at allowing the entry into force of the UPC Agreement . Article 89(1) of the UPC Agreement makes the entry into force of the Agreement dependent on the amendment of Regulation (EC) No 1215/2012. In addition, the proposal aims at ensuring compliance with the Brussels I Regulation of this Agreement as well as the Protocol to the Benelux Treaty of 1965 .

In order to ensure the combined and coherent application of the Agreement and Protocol and the Brussels I Regulation (recast), it is necessary to address the following issues in the Brussels I Regulation (recast):

clarify in the text of the Regulation that the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice are ‘courts’ within the meaning of the Brussels I Regulation; clarify the operation of the rules on jurisdiction with respect to the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice insofar as defendants domiciled in Member States are concerned; create uniform rules for the international jurisdiction vis-à-vis third State defendants in proceedings against such defendants brought in the Unified Patent Court and Benelux Court of Justice in situations where the Brussels I Regulation does not itself provide for such rules but refers to national law; define the application of the rules on lis pendens and related actions in relation to the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice, on the one hand, and the national courts of Member States which are not Contracting Party to the respective international agreements on the other; clarify the operation of the rules on recognition and enforcement in the relations between Member States which are and Member States which are not Contracting Parties to the respective international agreements.

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION: the proposal has no implications for the European Union’s budget.

2013/07/26
   EC - Legislative proposal published
Details

PURPOSE: to amend Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 (the so-called Brussels I Regulation) on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.

PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

BACKGROUND: Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Brussels I Regulation (recast)), recasting Regulation (EC) No 44/2001, was adopted. Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 will enter into application on 10 January 2015.

In December 2012, an agreement was reached on the so-called “patent package”:

two Regulations on the unified patent ( Regulation (EU) No 1257/2012 and Regulation (EU) No 1260/2012 ). These were adopted in enhanced cooperation involving 25 Member States (all Member States except Italy and Spain); and an international Agreement (the "Unified Patent Court Agreement" or "UPC Agreement") , laying the ground for the creation of unitary patent protection in the European Union. This was signed on 19 Februrary 2013 by the majority of Member States.

Article 89(1) of the UPC Agreement provides that the Agreement cannot enter into force prior to the entry into force of the amendments to the Brussels I Regulation (recast) regulating the relationship between both instruments.

On 15 October 2012, the three Member States (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) who are Contracting Parties to the Treaty of 31 March 1965 concerning the establishment and statute of a Benelux Court of Justice signed a Protocol modifying the said Treaty creating the possibility to extend the competences of the Benelux Court of Justice to include jurisdictional competences in specific matters which come within the scope of the Brussels I Regulation.

As a result, similar to the UPC Agreement, the Protocol to the Benelux Treaty requires an amendment to the Brussels I Regulation (recast) with the aim (i) to ensure compliance between the revised Treaty and the Brussels I Regulation (recast), and (ii) to address the lack of common jurisdiction rules vis-à-vis defendants in non-European Union States.

IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the matter of jurisdictional rules vis-à-vis State defendants was extensively assessed in the Commission's impact assessment accompanying the legislative proposal amending Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters ("Brussels I"). The conclusions of that assessment are a fortiori relevant for the limited harmonisation foreseen in this proposal.

LEGAL BASIS: Article 67(4) and points (a), (c) and (e) of Article 81(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

CONTENT: this proposal aims, firstly, at allowing the entry into force of the UPC Agreement . Article 89(1) of the UPC Agreement makes the entry into force of the Agreement dependent on the amendment of Regulation (EC) No 1215/2012. In addition, the proposal aims at ensuring compliance with the Brussels I Regulation of this Agreement as well as the Protocol to the Benelux Treaty of 1965 .

In order to ensure the combined and coherent application of the Agreement and Protocol and the Brussels I Regulation (recast), it is necessary to address the following issues in the Brussels I Regulation (recast):

clarify in the text of the Regulation that the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice are ‘courts’ within the meaning of the Brussels I Regulation; clarify the operation of the rules on jurisdiction with respect to the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice insofar as defendants domiciled in Member States are concerned; create uniform rules for the international jurisdiction vis-à-vis third State defendants in proceedings against such defendants brought in the Unified Patent Court and Benelux Court of Justice in situations where the Brussels I Regulation does not itself provide for such rules but refers to national law; define the application of the rules on lis pendens and related actions in relation to the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice, on the one hand, and the national courts of Member States which are not Contracting Party to the respective international agreements on the other; clarify the operation of the rules on recognition and enforcement in the relations between Member States which are and Member States which are not Contracting Parties to the respective international agreements.

BUDGETARY IMPLICATION: the proposal has no implications for the European Union’s budget.

Documents

Votes

A7-0052/2014 - Tadeusz Zwiefka - Résolution législative #

2014/04/15 Outcome: +: 523, -: 98, 0: 7
DE IT PL GB RO FR CZ HU BG ES PT SK BE SE HR IE AT DK FI SI LT LV MT LU NL EE EL CY
Total
87
49
42
66
27
60
18
17
16
47
17
12
20
20
10
11
17
11
11
6
6
7
5
6
23
4
8
4
icon: PPE PPE
221

Czechia PPE

2

Denmark PPE

For (1)

1

Malta PPE

For (1)

1

Luxembourg PPE

3

Netherlands PPE

2

Estonia PPE

For (1)

1

Greece PPE

1

Cyprus PPE

1
icon: S&D S&D
157

Ireland S&D

2

Finland S&D

2

Lithuania S&D

1

Luxembourg S&D

For (1)

1

Netherlands S&D

3
icon: ALDE ALDE
65
3

Finland ALDE

2

Slovenia ALDE

2

Lithuania ALDE

1

Luxembourg ALDE

For (1)

1

Estonia ALDE

2
icon: ECR ECR
49

Belgium ECR

For (1)

1

Croatia ECR

For (1)

1

Latvia ECR

For (1)

1

Netherlands ECR

For (1)

1
icon: GUE/NGL GUE/NGL
33

United Kingdom GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Spain GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Portugal GUE/NGL

Against (1)

3

Sweden GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Croatia GUE/NGL

1

Ireland GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Denmark GUE/NGL

Against (1)

1

Latvia GUE/NGL

For (1)

1

Netherlands GUE/NGL

2

Greece GUE/NGL

Abstain (1)

3

Cyprus GUE/NGL

1
icon: EFD EFD
23

Poland EFD

Against (1)

3

France EFD

Against (1)

1

Bulgaria EFD

For (1)

1

Slovakia EFD

For (1)

1

Belgium EFD

Abstain (1)

1

Denmark EFD

1

Finland EFD

For (1)

1

Lithuania EFD

For (1)

1

Netherlands EFD

For (1)

1
icon: NI NI
25

Italy NI

2
2

Hungary NI

1

Spain NI

1

Belgium NI

Against (1)

1

Ireland NI

For (1)

1

Austria NI

For (1)

Abstain (1)

4
icon: Verts/ALE Verts/ALE
54

United Kingdom Verts/ALE

5

Portugal Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Belgium Verts/ALE

4

Austria Verts/ALE

2

Denmark Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Finland Verts/ALE

Against (2)

2

Latvia Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Luxembourg Verts/ALE

Against (1)

1

Netherlands Verts/ALE

3

Estonia Verts/ALE

Abstain (1)

1

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)

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  • date: 2013-07-26T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2013/0554/COM_COM(2013)0554_EN.pdf title: COM(2013)0554 type: Legislative proposal published celexid: CELEX:52013PC0554:EN body: EC commission: DG: url: http://ec.europa.eu/justice/ title: Justice Commissioner: REDING Viviane type: Legislative proposal published
  • date: 2013-10-08T00:00:00 body: EP type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Employment and Social Affairs committee: EMPL body: EP shadows: group: S&D name: RAPKAY Bernhard group: ALDE name: THEIN Alexandra responsible: True committee: JURI date: 2013-09-17T00:00:00 committee_full: Legal Affairs rapporteur: group: PPE name: ZWIEFKA Tadeusz
  • body: CSL meeting_id: 3279 docs: url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=SMPL&ROWSPP=25&RESULTSET=1&NRROWS=500&DOC_LANCD=EN&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC&CONTENTS=3279*&MEET_DATE=06/12/2013 type: Debate in Council title: 3279 council: Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) date: 2013-12-06T00:00:00 type: Council Meeting
  • date: 2014-01-21T00:00:00 body: EP type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Employment and Social Affairs committee: EMPL body: EP shadows: group: S&D name: RAPKAY Bernhard group: ALDE name: THEIN Alexandra responsible: True committee: JURI date: 2013-09-17T00:00:00 committee_full: Legal Affairs rapporteur: group: PPE name: ZWIEFKA Tadeusz
  • body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A7-2014-0052&language=EN type: Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading title: A7-0052/2014 type: Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading committees: body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Employment and Social Affairs committee: EMPL body: EP shadows: group: S&D name: RAPKAY Bernhard group: ALDE name: THEIN Alexandra responsible: True committee: JURI date: 2013-09-17T00:00:00 committee_full: Legal Affairs rapporteur: group: PPE name: ZWIEFKA Tadeusz date: 2014-01-27T00:00:00
  • date: 2014-03-03T00:00:00 body: CSL type: Council Meeting council: Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) meeting_id: 3298
  • date: 2014-04-15T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=24065&l=en type: Results of vote in Parliament title: Results of vote in Parliament url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P7-TA-2014-0391 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading title: T7-0391/2014 body: EP type: Results of vote in Parliament
  • date: 2014-05-06T00:00:00 body: CSL type: Council Meeting council: Economic and Financial Affairs ECOFIN meeting_id: 3310
  • date: 2014-05-06T00:00:00 body: EP/CSL type: Act adopted by Council after Parliament's 1st reading
  • date: 2014-05-15T00:00:00 body: CSL type: Final act signed
  • date: 2014-05-15T00:00:00 body: EP type: End of procedure in Parliament
  • date: 2014-05-29T00:00:00 type: Final act published in Official Journal docs: url: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&numdoc=32014R0542 title: Regulation 2014/542 url: http://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/FR/TXT/?uri=OJ:L:2014:163:TOC title: OJ L 163 29.05.2014, p. 0001
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  • body: CSL type: Council Meeting council: Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) meeting_id: 3298 url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=SMPL&ROWSPP=25&RESULTSET=1&NRROWS=500&DOC_LANCD=EN&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC&CONTENTS=3298*&MEET_DATE=03/03/2014 date: 2014-03-03T00:00:00
  • body: CSL type: Council Meeting council: Justice and Home Affairs (JHA) meeting_id: 3279 url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=SMPL&ROWSPP=25&RESULTSET=1&NRROWS=500&DOC_LANCD=EN&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC&CONTENTS=3279*&MEET_DATE=06/12/2013 date: 2013-12-06T00:00:00
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  • date: 2013-12-13T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=COMPARL&mode=XML&language=EN&reference=PE526.091 title: PE526.091 type: Committee draft report body: EP
  • date: 2014-02-26T00:00:00 docs: url: https://dm.eesc.europa.eu/EESCDocumentSearch/Pages/redresults.aspx?k=(documenttype:AC)(documentnumber:7000)(documentyear:2013)(documentlanguage:EN) title: CES7000/2013 type: Economic and Social Committee: opinion, report body: ESC
  • date: 2014-04-08T00:00:00 docs: title: PE532.403 type: Amendments tabled in committee body: EP
  • date: 2014-05-15T00:00:00 docs: url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=ADV&RESULTSET=1&DOC_ID=[%n4]%2F14&DOC_LANCD=EN&ROWSPP=25&NRROWS=500&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC title: 00030/2014/LEX type: Draft final act body: CSL
  • date: 2014-07-09T00:00:00 docs: url: /oeil/spdoc.do?i=24065&j=0&l=en title: SP(2014)471 type: Commission response to text adopted in plenary
  • date: 2013-11-15T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.connefof.europarl.europa.eu/connefof/app/exp/COM(2013)0554 title: COM(2013)0554 type: Contribution body: ES_PARLIAMENT
  • date: 2013-11-06T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.connefof.europarl.europa.eu/connefof/app/exp/COM(2013)0554 title: COM(2013)0554 type: Contribution body: PT_PARLIAMENT
  • date: 2013-11-22T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.connefof.europarl.europa.eu/connefof/app/exp/COM(2013)0554 title: COM(2013)0554 type: Contribution body: RO_CHAMBER
events
  • date: 2013-07-26T00:00:00 type: Legislative proposal published body: EC docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2013/0554/COM_COM(2013)0554_EN.pdf title: COM(2013)0554 url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!DocNumber&lg=EN&type_doc=COMfinal&an_doc=2013&nu_doc=554 title: EUR-Lex summary: PURPOSE: to amend Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 (the so-called Brussels I Regulation) on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council. ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council. BACKGROUND: Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Brussels I Regulation (recast)), recasting Regulation (EC) No 44/2001, was adopted. Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 will enter into application on 10 January 2015. In December 2012, an agreement was reached on the so-called “patent package”: two Regulations on the unified patent ( Regulation (EU) No 1257/2012 and Regulation (EU) No 1260/2012 ). These were adopted in enhanced cooperation involving 25 Member States (all Member States except Italy and Spain); and an international Agreement (the "Unified Patent Court Agreement" or "UPC Agreement") , laying the ground for the creation of unitary patent protection in the European Union. This was signed on 19 Februrary 2013 by the majority of Member States. Article 89(1) of the UPC Agreement provides that the Agreement cannot enter into force prior to the entry into force of the amendments to the Brussels I Regulation (recast) regulating the relationship between both instruments. On 15 October 2012, the three Member States (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) who are Contracting Parties to the Treaty of 31 March 1965 concerning the establishment and statute of a Benelux Court of Justice signed a Protocol modifying the said Treaty creating the possibility to extend the competences of the Benelux Court of Justice to include jurisdictional competences in specific matters which come within the scope of the Brussels I Regulation. As a result, similar to the UPC Agreement, the Protocol to the Benelux Treaty requires an amendment to the Brussels I Regulation (recast) with the aim (i) to ensure compliance between the revised Treaty and the Brussels I Regulation (recast), and (ii) to address the lack of common jurisdiction rules vis-à-vis defendants in non-European Union States. IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the matter of jurisdictional rules vis-à-vis State defendants was extensively assessed in the Commission's impact assessment accompanying the legislative proposal amending Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters ("Brussels I"). The conclusions of that assessment are a fortiori relevant for the limited harmonisation foreseen in this proposal. LEGAL BASIS: Article 67(4) and points (a), (c) and (e) of Article 81(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU). CONTENT: this proposal aims, firstly, at allowing the entry into force of the UPC Agreement . Article 89(1) of the UPC Agreement makes the entry into force of the Agreement dependent on the amendment of Regulation (EC) No 1215/2012. In addition, the proposal aims at ensuring compliance with the Brussels I Regulation of this Agreement as well as the Protocol to the Benelux Treaty of 1965 . In order to ensure the combined and coherent application of the Agreement and Protocol and the Brussels I Regulation (recast), it is necessary to address the following issues in the Brussels I Regulation (recast): clarify in the text of the Regulation that the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice are ‘courts’ within the meaning of the Brussels I Regulation; clarify the operation of the rules on jurisdiction with respect to the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice insofar as defendants domiciled in Member States are concerned; create uniform rules for the international jurisdiction vis-à-vis third State defendants in proceedings against such defendants brought in the Unified Patent Court and Benelux Court of Justice in situations where the Brussels I Regulation does not itself provide for such rules but refers to national law; define the application of the rules on lis pendens and related actions in relation to the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice, on the one hand, and the national courts of Member States which are not Contracting Party to the respective international agreements on the other; clarify the operation of the rules on recognition and enforcement in the relations between Member States which are and Member States which are not Contracting Parties to the respective international agreements. BUDGETARY IMPLICATION: the proposal has no implications for the European Union’s budget.
  • date: 2013-10-08T00:00:00 type: Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2013-12-06T00:00:00 type: Debate in Council body: CSL docs: url: http://register.consilium.europa.eu/content/out?lang=EN&typ=SET&i=SMPL&ROWSPP=25&RESULTSET=1&NRROWS=500&DOC_LANCD=EN&ORDERBY=DOC_DATE+DESC&CONTENTS=3279*&MEET_DATE=06/12/2013 title: 3279 summary: The Council agreed on a general approach on a proposal for a regulation amending Regulation 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Recast). On 19 February 2013, 25 Member States signed an Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC) . The creation of such a court was made necessary by the adoption of two regulations with a view to implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection and its translation arrangements. The main objective of the proposal is to regulate the relationship between Regulation 1215/2012 and the UPC Agreement, it also takes into account the existence of the Benelux Court of Justice and the international jurisdiction to be exercised by that Court in specific matters which are covered by Regulation 1215/2012. The main amendments introduced by the general approach were as follows: The Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice should be considered common courts within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 in order to ensure legal certainty and predictability for defendants who may be sued before those two courts at a location situated in a Member State other than the one designated by the rules of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012. The common court shall have jurisdiction where, under this Regulation, the courts of a Member State party to the agreement establishing the common court would have jurisdiction in a matter governed by that agreement. Where the defendant is not domiciled in a Member State, and this Regulation does not otherwise confer jurisdiction over him, provisions of the Regulation 1215/2012 shall apply as appropriate regardless of the defendant's domicile . Where a common court has jurisdiction over a defendant in a dispute relating to an infringement of a European patent giving rise to damage within the Union , that court may also have jurisdiction in relation to damage arising outside the Union from such an infringement. Such jurisdiction may only be established if property belonging to the defendant is located in a Member State party to the agreement establishing the common court. The rules of this Regulation shall apply to the recognition and enforcement of : judgments given by a common court which are to be recognised and enforced in a Member State not party to the agreement establishing the common court; and judgments given by the courts of a Member State not party to the agreement establishing the common court which are to be recognised and enforced in a Member State party to that agreement. The rules of this Regulation shall not apply to the recognition and enforcement of judgments given by a common court where such recognition and enforcement is sought in a Member State party to the agreement establishing the common court. It should be noted that the United Kingdom and Ireland have notified their wish to take part in the adoption and application of this Regulation. Denmark is not taking part in the adoption of this Regulation and is not bound by it or subject to its application. This general approach will constitute the basis for negotiations with the European Parliament in order to agree the final text of the regulation.
  • date: 2014-01-21T00:00:00 type: Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading body: EP
  • date: 2014-01-27T00:00:00 type: Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=REPORT&mode=XML&reference=A7-2014-0052&language=EN title: A7-0052/2014 summary: The Legal Affairs Committee adopted the report by Tadeusz ZWIEFKA (EPP, PL) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. To recap, the Brussels I Recast Regulation on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters was adopted on 12 December 2012. It will enter into application on 10 January 2015. That reform brought about a number of important changes, including the abolition of the exequatur procedure, ensuring an easier enforcement procedure in other Member States. The parliamentary committee recommended that the position adopted by the European Parliament at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure amend the Commission’s proposal as follows: Unified Patent Court : in view of the importance of the future Unified Patent Court, it is proposed that it be mentioned in the recitals of the Brussels I Regulation. Purpose of the amendments : a recital stated that the internal distribution of tasks in the court is not covered by the changes to the Brussels I Recast. The report clarified some points on determining the competence of a common jurisdiction: 1) Members proposed that the common court should be able to hear disputes involving defendants from third States in the specific case of a Union claimant bringing proceedings against a third-State defendant before a common court relating to an infringement of a European patent giving rise to damage both inside and outside the Union . Where a common court has jurisdiction over a defendant in a dispute relating to an infringement of a European patent giving rise to damage within the Union, that court may also have jurisdiction in relation to damage arising outside the Union from such an infringement. Such jurisdiction may only be established if property belonging to the defendant is located in one or more Member States which are parties to the agreement establishing the common court and the dispute has a sufficient connection with one or more of those Member States. By this amendment, Members seek to clarify that all Member States party to the agreement are to be considered to constitute a single legal area for the assessment of the existence of connecting factors. 2) Members also stipulated that where an agreement establishing a common court contains special provisions on recognition and enforcement of a decision , these provisions will apply instead of the general rules of the Brussels I Regulation as between the Member States parties. Finally, it is proposed that this Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union and shall apply from 10 January 2015.
  • date: 2014-04-15T00:00:00 type: Results of vote in Parliament body: EP docs: url: https://oeil.secure.europarl.europa.eu/oeil/popups/sda.do?id=24065&l=en title: Results of vote in Parliament
  • date: 2014-04-15T00:00:00 type: Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading body: EP docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=TA&language=EN&reference=P7-TA-2014-0391 title: T7-0391/2014 summary: The European Parliament adopted by 583 votes to 98, with 17 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. Parliament adopted its position at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure. The amendments adopted in plenary were the result of a compromise between Parliament and Council. They amend the Commission’s proposal as follows: To recap, the Brussels I Recast Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012) on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters was adopted on 12 December 2012. It will enter into application on 10 January 2015. That reform brought about a number of important changes, including the abolition of the exequatur procedure, ensuring an easier enforcement procedure in other Member States. The amendments adopted in plenary amended the Commission proposal as follows: Purpose of the amendments : the amendments would seek to regulate the relationship between the Brussels I Regulation and the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC) and the Treaty on the Benelux Court of Justice. They are intended to establish the international jurisdiction of that Court and do not affect the internal allocation of proceedings among the divisions of that Court nor the arrangements laid down in the UPC Agreement concerning the exercise of jurisdiction, including exclusive jurisdiction, during the transitional period provided for in that Agreement. International jurisdiction : Parliament and the Council clarified certain points as regards the determination of the jurisdiction of a common court. For the purposes of this Regulation, each of the following courts shall be a common court: the Unified Patent Court established by the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court signed on 19 February 2013 (the “UPC Agreement”); and the Benelux Court of Justice established by the Treaty of 31 March 1965 concerning the establishment and statute of a Benelux Court of Justice (the “Benelux Court of Justice Treaty”). To allow those two Courts to exercise jurisdiction with respect to defendants not domiciled in a Member State, the rules of the Brussels I Regulation should therefore, with regard to matters falling within the jurisdiction of, respectively, the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice, also apply to defendants domiciled in third States . The existing rules of jurisdiction of the Brussels I Regulation should be extended to proceedings against all defendants regardless of their domicile. Application may be made to a common court for provisional, including protective, measures even if the courts of a third State have jurisdiction as to the substance of the matter. According to the amended text, a common court should have jurisdiction over a defendant from a third country in a dispute relating to an infringement of a European patent giving rise to damage within the Union, that court may also exercise jurisdiction in relation to damage arising outside the Union from such an infringement . Such jurisdiction may only be established if property belonging to the defendant is located in any Member State party to the instrument establishing the common court and the dispute has a sufficient connection with any such Member State. Recognition and enforcement : this Regulation should apply to the recognition and enforcement of: judgments given by a common court which are to be recognised and enforced in a Member State not party to the instrument establishing the common court; and judgments given by the courts of a Member State not party to the instrument establishing the common court which are to be recognised and enforced in a Member State party to that instrument. However, where recognition and enforcement of a judgment given by a common court is sought in a Member State party to the instrument establishing the common court, any rules of that instrument on recognition and enforcement should apply instead of the rules of the Brussels I Regulation.
  • date: 2014-05-06T00:00:00 type: Act adopted by Council after Parliament's 1st reading body: EP/CSL
  • date: 2014-05-15T00:00:00 type: Final act signed body: CSL
  • date: 2014-05-15T00:00:00 type: End of procedure in Parliament body: EP
  • date: 2014-05-29T00:00:00 type: Final act published in Official Journal summary: PURPOSE: to amend Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (the ‘Brussels I Regulation’). LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) n° 542/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 as regards the rules to be applied with respect to the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice CONTENT: the aim of this amending Regulation is to allow the rules of the Brussels I Regulation to be applied by two courts common to several Member States: the Unified Patent Court established on 19 February 2013 by an Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC Agreement) and the Benelux Court of Justice. · The UPC Agreement provides for its entry into force not prior to the first day of the fourth month after the date of entry into force of the amendments to the Brussels I Regulation concerning the relationship of that Regulation with the UPC Agreement. · On 15 October 2012, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, parties to the Treaty of 31 March 1965 concerning the establishment and statute of a Benelux Court of Justice, signed a Protocol amending that Treaty. That Protocol made it possible to transfer jurisdiction to the Benelux Court of Justice in specific matters falling within the scope of the Brussels I Regulation. Accordingly, the amendments made aim to regulate the relationship of the Brussels I Regulation with the UPC Agreement and with the Benelux Court of Justice Treaty by way of amendments to that Regulation. The new Regulation provides that the jurisdiction of a common court shall be determined as follows: 1) A common court shall have jurisdiction where, under this Regulation, the courts of a Member State party to the instrument establishing the common court would have jurisdiction in a matter governed by that instrument. 2) To allow the two Courts to exercise jurisdiction with respect to defendants not domiciled in a Member State, the rules of the Brussels I Regulation will, with regard to matters falling within the jurisdiction of, respectively, the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice, also apply to defendants domiciled in third States. The existing rules of jurisdiction of Brussels I are extended to proceedings against all defendants regardless of their domicile. Application may be made to a common court for provisional, including protective, measures even if the courts of a third State have jurisdiction as to the substance of the matter; 3) Lastly, where a common court has jurisdiction over a defendant domiciled in a third State in a dispute relating to an infringement of a European patent giving rise to damage within the Union, that court may also exercise jurisdiction in relation to damage arising outside the Union from such an infringement. Such jurisdiction may only be established if property belonging to the defendant is located in any Member State party to the instrument establishing the common court and the dispute has a sufficient connection with any such Member State. The new Regulation also deals with the rules on the recognition and enforcement of judgements between Member States party to an instrument establishing a common court and Member states not party to such instruments. The United Kingdom and Ireland have notified their wish to take part in the adoption and application of this Regulation. Denmark will not take part in it. ENTRY INTO FORCE: 30.05.2014. The Regulation will apply from 10.01.2015. docs: title: Regulation 2014/542 url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/smartapi/cgi/sga_doc?smartapi!celexplus!prod!CELEXnumdoc&lg=EN&numdoc=32014R0542 title: OJ L 163 29.05.2014, p. 0001 url: https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/FR/TXT/?uri=OJ:L:2014:163:TOC
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Jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters:  rules to be applied with respect to the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice
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  • PURPOSE: to amend Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (the ‘Brussels I Regulation’).

    LEGISLATIVE ACT: Regulation (EU) n° 542/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 as regards the rules to be applied with respect to the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice

    CONTENT: the aim of this amending Regulation is to allow the rules of the Brussels I Regulation to be applied by two courts common to several Member States: the Unified Patent Court established on 19 February 2013 by an Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC Agreement) and the Benelux Court of Justice.

    ·        The UPC Agreement provides for its entry into force not prior to the first day of the fourth month after the date of entry into force of the amendments to the Brussels I Regulation concerning the relationship of that Regulation with the UPC Agreement.

    ·        On 15 October 2012, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, parties to the Treaty of 31 March 1965 concerning the establishment and statute of a Benelux Court of Justice, signed a Protocol amending that Treaty. That Protocol made it possible to transfer jurisdiction to the Benelux Court of Justice in specific matters falling within the scope of the Brussels I Regulation.

    Accordingly, the amendments made aim to regulate the relationship of the Brussels I Regulation with the UPC Agreement and with the Benelux Court of Justice Treaty by way of amendments to that Regulation.

    The new Regulation provides that the jurisdiction of a common court shall be determined as follows:

    1) A common court shall have jurisdiction where, under this Regulation, the courts of a Member State party to the instrument establishing the common court would have jurisdiction in a matter governed by that instrument.

    2) To allow the two Courts to exercise jurisdiction with respect to defendants not domiciled in a Member State, the rules of the Brussels I Regulation will, with regard to matters falling within the jurisdiction of, respectively, the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice, also apply to defendants domiciled in third States. The existing rules of jurisdiction of Brussels I are extended to proceedings against all defendants regardless of their domicile.

    Application may be made to a common court for provisional, including protective, measures even if the courts of a third State have jurisdiction as to the substance of the matter;

    3) Lastly, where a common court has jurisdiction over a defendant domiciled in a third State in a dispute relating to an infringement of a European patent giving rise to damage within the Union, that court may also exercise jurisdiction in relation to damage arising outside the Union from such an infringement. Such jurisdiction may only be established if property belonging to the defendant is located in any Member State party to the instrument establishing the common court and the dispute has a sufficient connection with any such Member State.

    The new Regulation also deals with the rules on the recognition and enforcement of judgements between Member States party to an instrument establishing a common court and Member states not party to such instruments.

    The United Kingdom and Ireland have notified their wish to take part in the adoption and application of this Regulation. Denmark will not take part in it.

    ENTRY INTO FORCE: 30.05.2014. The Regulation will apply from 10.01.2015.

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  • The European Parliament adopted by 583 votes to 98, with 17 abstentions, a legislative resolution on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.

    Parliament adopted its position at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure. The amendments adopted in plenary were the result of a compromise between Parliament and Council. They amend the Commission’s proposal as follows:

    To recap, the Brussels I Recast Regulation (Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012) on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters was adopted on 12 December 2012. It will enter into application on 10 January 2015. That reform brought about a number of important changes, including the abolition of the exequatur procedure, ensuring an easier enforcement procedure in other Member States.

    The amendments adopted in plenary amended the Commission proposal as follows:

    Purpose of the amendments: the amendments would seek to regulate the relationship between the Brussels I Regulation and the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC) and the Treaty on the Benelux Court of Justice. They are intended to establish the international jurisdiction of that Court and do not affect the internal allocation of proceedings among the divisions of that Court nor the arrangements laid down in the UPC Agreement concerning the exercise of jurisdiction, including exclusive jurisdiction, during the transitional period provided for in that Agreement.

    International jurisdiction: Parliament and the Council clarified certain points as regards the determination of the jurisdiction of a common court.

    For the purposes of this Regulation, each of the following courts shall be a common court:

    • the Unified Patent Court established by the Agreement on a Unified Patent Court signed on 19 February 2013 (the “UPC Agreement”); and
    • the Benelux Court of Justice established by the Treaty of 31 March 1965 concerning the establishment and statute of a Benelux Court of Justice (the “Benelux Court of Justice Treaty”).

    To allow those two Courts to exercise jurisdiction with respect to defendants not domiciled in a Member State, the rules of the Brussels I Regulation should therefore, with regard to matters falling within the jurisdiction of, respectively, the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice, also apply to defendants domiciled in third States. The existing rules of jurisdiction of the Brussels I Regulation should be extended to proceedings against all defendants regardless of their domicile.

    Application may be made to a common court for provisional, including protective, measures even if the courts of a third State have jurisdiction as to the substance of the matter.

    According to the amended text, a common court should have jurisdiction over a defendant from a third country in a dispute relating to an infringement of a European patent giving rise to damage within the Union, that court may also exercise jurisdiction in relation to damage arising outside the Union from such an infringement.

    Such jurisdiction may only be established if property belonging to the defendant is located in any Member State party to the instrument establishing the common court and the dispute has a sufficient connection with any such Member State.

    Recognition and enforcement: this Regulation should apply to the recognition and enforcement of:

    • judgments given by a common court which are to be recognised and enforced in a Member State not party to the instrument establishing the common court; and
    • judgments given by the courts of a Member State not party to the instrument establishing the common court which are to be recognised and enforced in a Member State party to that instrument.

    However, where recognition and enforcement of a judgment given by a common court is sought in a Member State party to the instrument establishing the common court, any rules of that instrument on recognition and enforcement should apply instead of the rules of the Brussels I Regulation.

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  • The Council agreed on a general approach on a proposal for a regulation amending Regulation 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Recast).

    On 19 February 2013, 25 Member States signed an Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC). The creation of such a court was made necessary by the adoption of two regulations with a view to implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection and its translation arrangements.

    The main objective of the proposal is to regulate the relationship between Regulation 1215/2012 and the UPC Agreement, it also takes into account the existence of the Benelux Court of Justice and the international jurisdiction to be exercised by that Court in specific matters which are covered by Regulation 1215/2012.

    The main amendments introduced by the general approach were as follows:

    • The Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice should be considered common courts within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 in order to ensure legal certainty and predictability for defendants who may be sued before those two courts at a location situated in a Member State other than the one designated by the rules of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012.
    • The common court shall have jurisdiction where, under this Regulation, the courts of a Member State party to the agreement establishing the common court would have jurisdiction in a matter governed by that agreement.
    • Where the defendant is not domiciled in a Member State, and this Regulation does not otherwise confer jurisdiction over him, provisions of the Regulation 1215/2012 shall apply as appropriate regardless of the defendant's domicile.
    • Where a common court has jurisdiction over a defendant in a dispute relating to an infringement of a European patent giving rise to damage within the Union, that court may also have jurisdiction in relation to damage arising outside the Union from such an infringement.

    Such jurisdiction may only be established if property belonging to the defendant is located in a Member State party to the agreement establishing the common court.

    • The rules of this Regulation shall apply to the recognition and enforcement of:
      1. judgments given by a common court which are to be recognised and enforced in a Member State not party to the agreement establishing the common court; and
      2. judgments given by the courts of a Member State not party to the agreement establishing the common court which are to be recognised and enforced in a Member State party to that agreement.
    • The rules of this Regulation shall not apply to the recognition and enforcement of judgments given by a common court where such recognition and enforcement is sought in a Member State party to the agreement establishing the common court.

    It should be noted that the United Kingdom and Ireland have notified their wish to take part in the adoption and application of this Regulation. Denmark is not taking part in the adoption of this Regulation and is not bound by it or subject to its application.

    This general approach will constitute the basis for negotiations with the European Parliament in order to agree the final text of the regulation.

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  • The Council agreed on a general approach on a proposal for a regulation amending Regulation 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Recast).

    On 19 February 2013, 25 Member States signed an Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC). The creation of such a court was made necessary by the adoption of two regulations with a view to implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection and its translation arrangements.

    The main objective of the proposal is to regulate the relationship between Regulation 1215/2012 and the UPC Agreement, it also takes into account the existence of the Benelux Court of Justice and the international jurisdiction to be exercised by that Court in specific matters which are covered by Regulation 1215/2012.

    The main amendments introduced by the general approach were as follows:

    • The Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice should be considered common courts within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 in order to ensure legal certainty and predictability for defendants who may be sued before those two courts at a location situated in a Member State other than the one designated by the rules of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012.
    • The common court shall have jurisdiction where, under this Regulation, the courts of a Member State party to the agreement establishing the common court would have jurisdiction in a matter governed by that agreement.
    • Where the defendant is not domiciled in a Member State, and this Regulation does not otherwise confer jurisdiction over him, provisions of the Regulation 1215/2012 shall apply as appropriate regardless of the defendant's domicile.
    • Where a common court has jurisdiction over a defendant in a dispute relating to an infringement of a European patent giving rise to damage within the Union, that court may also have jurisdiction in relation to damage arising outside the Union from such an infringement.

    Such jurisdiction may only be established if property belonging to the defendant is located in a Member State party to the agreement establishing the common court.

    • The rules of this Regulation shall apply to the recognition and enforcement of:
      1. judgments given by a common court which are to be recognised and enforced in a Member State not party to the agreement establishing the common court; and
      2. judgments given by the courts of a Member State not party to the agreement establishing the common court which are to be recognised and enforced in a Member State party to that agreement.
    • The rules of this Regulation shall not apply to the recognition and enforcement of judgments given by a common court where such recognition and enforcement is sought in a Member State party to the agreement establishing the common court.

    It should be noted that the United Kingdom and Ireland have notified their wish to take part in the adoption and application of this Regulation. Denmark is not taking part in the adoption of this Regulation and is not bound by it or subject to its application.

    This general approach will constitute the basis for negotiations with the European Parliament in order to agree the final text of the regulation.

activities/4/docs/0/text
  • The Legal Affairs Committee adopted the report by Tadeusz ZWIEFKA (EPP, PL) on the proposal for a regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council amending Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.

    To recap, the Brussels I Recast Regulation on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters was adopted on 12 December 2012. It will enter into application on 10 January 2015. That reform brought about a number of important changes, including the abolition of the exequatur procedure, ensuring an easier enforcement procedure in other Member States.

    The parliamentary committee recommended that the position adopted by the European Parliament at first reading under the ordinary legislative procedure amend the Commission’s proposal as follows:

    Unified Patent Court: in view of the importance of the future Unified Patent Court, it is proposed that it be mentioned in the recitals of the Brussels I Regulation.

    Purpose of the amendments: a recital stated that the internal distribution of tasks in the court is not covered by the changes to the Brussels I Recast.

    The report clarified some points on determining the competence of a common jurisdiction:

    1) Members proposed that the common court should be able to hear disputes involving defendants from third States in the specific case of a Union claimant bringing proceedings against a third-State defendant before a common court relating to an infringement of a European patent giving rise to damage both inside and outside the Union.

    Where a common court has jurisdiction over a defendant in a dispute relating to an infringement of a European patent giving rise to damage within the Union, that court may also have jurisdiction in relation to damage arising outside the Union from such an infringement. Such jurisdiction may only be established if property belonging to the defendant is located in one or more Member States which are parties to the agreement establishing the common court and the dispute has a sufficient connection with one or more of those Member States.

    By this amendment, Members seek to clarify that all Member States party to the agreement are to be considered to constitute a single legal area for the assessment of the existence of connecting factors.

    2) Members also stipulated that where an agreement establishing a common court contains special provisions on recognition and enforcement of a decision, these provisions will apply instead of the general rules of the Brussels I Regulation as between the Member States parties.

    Finally, it is proposed that this Regulation shall enter into force on the day following that of its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union and shall apply from 10 January 2015.

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  • The Council agreed on a general approach on a proposal for a regulation amending Regulation 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Recast).

    On 19 February 2013, 25 Member States signed an Agreement on a Unified Patent Court (UPC). The creation of such a court was made necessary by the adoption of two regulations with a view to implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the creation of unitary patent protection and its translation arrangements.

    The main objective of the proposal is to regulate the relationship between Regulation 1215/2012 and the UPC Agreement, it also takes into account the existence of the Benelux Court of Justice and the international jurisdiction to be exercised by that Court in specific matters which are covered by Regulation 1215/2012.

    The main amendments introduced by the general approach were as follows:

    • The Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice should be considered common courts within the meaning of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 in order to ensure legal certainty and predictability for defendants who may be sued before those two courts at a location situated in a Member State other than the one designated by the rules of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012.
    • The common court shall have jurisdiction where, under this Regulation, the courts of a Member State party to the agreement establishing the common court would have jurisdiction in a matter governed by that agreement.
    • Where the defendant is not domiciled in a Member State, and this Regulation does not otherwise confer jurisdiction over him, provisions of the Regulation 1215/2012 shall apply as appropriate regardless of the defendant's domicile.
    • Where a common court has jurisdiction over a defendant in a dispute relating to an infringement of a European patent giving rise to damage within the Union, that court may also have jurisdiction in relation to damage arising outside the Union from such an infringement.

    Such jurisdiction may only be established if property belonging to the defendant is located in a Member State party to the agreement establishing the common court.

    • The rules of this Regulation shall apply to the recognition and enforcement of:
      1. judgments given by a common court which are to be recognised and enforced in a Member State not party to the agreement establishing the common court; and
      2. judgments given by the courts of a Member State not party to the agreement establishing the common court which are to be recognised and enforced in a Member State party to that agreement.
    • The rules of this Regulation shall not apply to the recognition and enforcement of judgments given by a common court where such recognition and enforcement is sought in a Member State party to the agreement establishing the common court.

    It should be noted that the United Kingdom and Ireland have notified their wish to take part in the adoption and application of this Regulation. Denmark is not taking part in the adoption of this Regulation and is not bound by it or subject to its application.

    This general approach will constitute the basis for negotiations with the European Parliament in order to agree the final text of the regulation.

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  • PURPOSE: to amend Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 (the so-called Brussels I Regulation) on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.

    PROPOSED ACT: Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council.

    ROLE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT: the European Parliament decides in accordance with the ordinary legislative procedure and on an equal footing with the Council.

    BACKGROUND: Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Brussels I Regulation (recast)), recasting Regulation (EC) No 44/2001, was adopted. Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 will enter into application on 10 January 2015.

    In December 2012, an agreement was reached on the so-called “patent package”:

    • two Regulations on the unified patent (Regulation (EU) No 1257/2012 and Regulation (EU) No 1260/2012). These were adopted in enhanced cooperation involving 25 Member States (all Member States except Italy and Spain); and
    • an international Agreement (the "Unified Patent Court Agreement" or "UPC Agreement"), laying the ground for the creation of unitary patent protection in the European Union. This was signed on 19 Februrary 2013 by the majority of Member States.

    Article 89(1) of the UPC Agreement provides that the Agreement cannot enter into force prior to the entry into force of the amendments to the Brussels I Regulation (recast) regulating the relationship between both instruments.

    On 15 October 2012, the three Member States (Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands) who are Contracting Parties to the Treaty of 31 March 1965 concerning the establishment and statute of a Benelux Court of Justice signed a Protocol modifying the said Treaty creating the possibility to extend the competences of the Benelux Court of Justice to include jurisdictional competences in specific matters which come within the scope of the Brussels I Regulation.

    As a result, similar to the UPC Agreement, the Protocol to the Benelux Treaty requires an amendment to the Brussels I Regulation (recast) with the aim (i) to ensure compliance between the revised Treaty and the Brussels I Regulation (recast), and (ii) to address the lack of common jurisdiction rules vis-à-vis defendants in non-European Union States.

    IMPACT ASSESSMENT: the matter of jurisdictional rules vis-à-vis State defendants was extensively assessed in the Commission's impact assessment accompanying the legislative proposal amending Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters ("Brussels I"). The conclusions of that assessment are a fortiori relevant for the limited harmonisation foreseen in this proposal.

    LEGAL BASIS: Article 67(4) and points (a), (c) and (e) of Article 81(2) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

    CONTENT: this proposal aims, firstly, at allowing the entry into force of the UPC Agreement. Article 89(1) of the UPC Agreement makes the entry into force of the Agreement dependent on the amendment of Regulation (EC) No 1215/2012. In addition, the proposal aims at ensuring compliance with the Brussels I Regulation of this Agreement as well as the Protocol to the Benelux Treaty of 1965.

    In order to ensure the combined and coherent application of the Agreement and Protocol and the Brussels I Regulation (recast), it is necessary to address the following issues in the Brussels I Regulation (recast):

    • clarify in the text of the Regulation that the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice are ‘courts’ within the meaning of the Brussels I Regulation;
    • clarify the operation of the rules on jurisdiction with respect to the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice insofar as defendants domiciled in Member States are concerned;
    • create uniform rules for the international jurisdiction vis-à-vis third State defendants in proceedings against such defendants brought in the Unified Patent Court and Benelux Court of Justice in situations where the Brussels I Regulation does not itself provide for such rules but refers to national law;
    • define the application of the rules on lis pendens and related actions in relation to the Unified Patent Court and the Benelux Court of Justice, on the one hand, and the national courts of Member States which are not Contracting Party to the respective international agreements on the other;
    • clarify the operation of the rules on recognition and enforcement in the relations between Member States which are and Member States which are not Contracting Parties to the respective international agreements.

    BUDGETARY IMPLICATION: the proposal has no implications for the European Union’s budget.

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  • date: 2013-07-26T00:00:00 docs: url: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/registre/docs_autres_institutions/commission_europeenne/com/2013/0554/COM_COM(2013)0554_EN.pdf celexid: CELEX:52013PC0554:EN type: Legislative proposal published title: COM(2013)0554 body: EC commission: type: Legislative proposal
committees
  • body: EP responsible: False committee_full: Employment and Social Affairs committee: EMPL
  • body: EP responsible: True committee_full: Legal Affairs committee: JURI
links
National parliaments
European Commission
other
    procedure
    reference
    2013/0268(COD)
    subtype
    Legislation
    legal_basis
    stage_reached
    Preparatory phase in Parliament
    summary
    instrument
    Regulation
    title
    Jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters
    type
    COD - Ordinary legislative procedure (ex-codecision procedure)
    subject
    7.40.02 Judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters