This book explores how EU and international civil procedure rules (hard law, soft law, and judicial decision) shape national civil procedure law of the EU member states.

This book discusses the impact of EU law on selected national legal systems. The authors analyse how the civil procedure system of their country has reacted to increasing Europeanisation and influence of EU law.

This rise of a particular kind of European Union legislation known as the ‘optional instrument’ is a novel trend in the context of EU law, and one that until now has not been comprehensively mapped or explored. This study examines and discusses existing and proposed EU Optional Instruments (OIs) in different fields of European law, including company law, intellectual property law and procedural law (such as the European Company, the Community ...

This yearbook takes up recent trends in international arbitration.

Public confidence in the justice system depends on the belief that decisions made in the judicial processes are reasonably correct and accurate. This book focuses on the systems of appellate control of court judgments. The editors explore the relationship between the different approaches to appeals in national civil justice systems and their impact on the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the legal protection of individual rights.

Although the protection of individuals’ interests against administrative actions is still primarily the domain of the judiciary, most legal systems nowadays also assign this task to ombudsmen. This can potentially lead to conflicts between the two institutions and can affect their relations, and therefore needs coordination.

Mediation is becoming an increasingly important tool for resolving civil and commercial disputes. The European Directive 2008/52/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21.5.2008 on certain aspects of mediation in civil and commercial matters prescribes a set of minimum common rules on mediation for all EU Member States with the exception of Denmark.

This book analyses in depth the various ADR devices present in relevant countries, such as Australia, China, England, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Japan, Singapore, South Korea, Thailand, the Philippines, and the USA.

This study provides an overview of the existing acquis communautaire in property law, and presents a proposal for the future development of this field of law. It deals with the influence of the EU’s four freedoms on national property law and discusses whether or not the EU would have the competence to actively create property law, and the extent to which it has already done so.