International jurisdiction and provisional measures: towards a common interim justice in European Civil Procedure converging on national laws

Abstract

The obtaining and enforcement of protective and provisional measures in cross-border cases under the European Regulations in International Private Law is a matter which has yet to deal with some controversial issues. Despite the progress made with Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 and the CJEU case-law, it remains unclear its definition, the possibility of its request prior to the determination of the court having jurisdiction on the substance of the matter, or the cross-border enforcement of the measures ordered without the defendant being summoned to appear. However, within the last Union’s legislative works and proposals in the field of the harmonisation of the Civil Procedure, it must be highlighted a tendency to enshrine a common regime for the interim Justice in the European Judicial Area. And that common regime is characterised by admitting both the provisional measures requested prior to the main claim and the cross-border effectiveness of the ex parte measures beyond the State in which they were ordered.