In parallel with the adoption of EU instruments in the field of civil and commercial law, the EU's exclusive external competence to negotiate and conclude international conventions has also expanded. As a result, the EU (represented by the Commission) was gradually replacing the Member States internationally. If the EU cannot be a formally contracting party to an international convention (because the participation of regional / international organizations is not foreseen in the convention), the EU exercises its competence through its Member States.
The EU promotes multilateral conventions in its relations with third countries to build on a common legal framework on many issues. The aim is to strengthen EU values, promote trade and protect EU citizens and businesses at global level. Main partner EU international judicial cooperation in civil matters jest The Hague Conference on Private International Law of which the EU has been a full member since 2007. Other relevant organizations are uncitral (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law) i unidroit(International Institute for the Unification of Private Law), where the EU has observer status. The conventions developed by these international organizations cover issues such as the protection of children (in particular child support and child abduction prevention), choice of court, recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, security interests, insolvency or the protection of vulnerable adults.
Lugano Convention with Norway, Switzerland and Iceland
So far, the Commission has negotiated four main ones on behalf of the Union multilateral conventions: Lugano Convention with Norway, Switzerland and Iceland on jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters substantially extending the Union system to these three countries; The 2007 Hague Convention on Child Maintenance (ratified by the EU in 2014) and a protocol to it on applicable law (concluded in 2010) providing protection for children and spouses in need of maintenance outside the EU; 2005 Hague Choice of Court Convention ., ratified by the EU in 2015, which ensures respect for the court chosen by the parties and the recognition and enforcement of the resulting judgment, and the 2019 Hague Convention . on Judgments , which establishes a comprehensive system for the recognition and enforcement of judgments foreign affairs civil or commercial matters.
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On 16 July 2021, the Commission proposed that the EU acceded to the Judicial Convention. The Council adopted the accession decision on 12 July 2022 and the EU acceded to the Judicial Convention on 29 August of the same year. The EU's accession to this convention aims to facilitate the recognition and enforcement of judgments handed down by EU courts in non-EU countries, while allowing foreign judgments to be recognized and enforced in the EU only if the fundamental principles of EU law are respected.
Source: European Commission
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