EIRP Proceedings, Vol 4 (2009)

Abstract

Maintaining and developing the area of freedom, security and justice is a major objective of the European Community, which guarantees the free movement of persons. As a result of litigations regarding the applications with a reduced value arising among physical or legal persons, it was felt the need for a community legislation that would guarantee identical conditions, both for creditors and debtors throughout the entire European Union territory. The European procedure regarding the debts recovery of reduced value facilitates the access to justice and it is characterized by simplifying and expediting the settling of the transboundary litigations, reducing costs, the recognition and execution of the court order in a Member State given in another Member State. This procedure is available to litigants as an alternative to the procedures provided by the laws of Member States. The Regulation (EC) no. 861/2007 establishing a European procedure regarding the applications with reduced value applies in civil and commercial matters in the transboundary cases, regardless the nature of the court when the application value, without taking into account the interest, expenditures and other costs, does not exceed 2000 Euro at the time of receiving the application form by the competent court. This procedure does not apply to revenue, customs or administrative matters or in regard to state responsibility for acts or omissions in exercising the public authority, and other matters specifically referred to in the Regulation. A cause is transboundary in nature when one of the parties has its habitual residence in a Member State, other than the one where the court receives such application. The proper procedure of application resolution for the recovery of debts with reduced value is governed by the rules of procedural law of the Member State in which the proceedings are conducted, and the execution of court of law is made by state legislation in which it takes place. The Regulation expressly provides that the court order in this matter can not be, in any form, the subject of reexamination, in the State member in which its execution is requested. As regards the linguistic regime, the application will be written in the language or in one of the procedure languages of the court; the costs are incurred by the losing party in the application. But the court will not grant the party that won the lawsuit the expenses that were not necessary or the ones that have a disproportionate value in relation to the application.