This substantial and original book examines how the EU Private International Law (PIL) framework is functioning and considers its impact on the administration of justice in cross-border cases within the EU. It grew out of a major project (ie EUPILLAR: European Union Private International Law: Legal Application in Reality) financially supported by the EU Civil Justice Programme. The research was led by the Centre for Private International Law at the University of Aberdeen and involved partners from the Universities of Freiburg, Antwerp, Wroclaw, Leeds, Milan and Madrid (Complutense). The contributors address the specific features of cross-border disputes in the EU by undertaking a comprehensive analysis of the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) and national case law on the Brussels I, Rome I and II, Brussels IIa and Maintenance Regulations. Part I discusses the development of the EU PIL framework. Part II contains the national reports from 26 EU Member States. Parts III (civil and commercial) and IV (family law) contain the CJEU case law analysis and several cross-cutting chapters. Part V briefly sets the agenda for an institutional reform which is necessary to improve the effectiveness of the EU PIL regime. This comprehensive research project book will be of interest to researchers, students, legal practitioners, judges and policy-makers who work, or are interested, in the field of private international law.

Table of Contents:
1. Introduction: Research Aims and Methodology Paul Beaumont and Mihail Danov Part I: Shaping the Development of the Private International Law Framework 2. EU Competence to Legislate in the Area of Private International Law and Law Reforms at the EU Level Jan von Hein 3. An Analysis of the Effectiveness of the EU Institutions in Making and Interpreting EU Private International Law Regulations Burcu Yüksel 4. Unharmonised Procedural Rules: Is there a Case for Further Harmonisation at EU Level? Jonathan Fitchen Part II: Cross-border Litigation Pattern—Empirical Data and Analysis 5. Great Britain Paul Beaumont, Mihail Danov, Katarina Trimmings and Burcu Yüksel 6. Belgium Thalia Kruger and Eline Ulrix 7. Germany Jan von Hein and Hannah Dittmers 8. Italy Stefania Bariatti, Ilaria Viarengo, Francesca C Villata, Sara Bernasconi and Filippo Marchetti 9. Spain Carmen Otero García-Castrillón 10. Poland Agnieszka Frackowiak-Adamska, Agnieszka Guzewicz and Lukasz Petelski 11. Austria Florian Heindler and Bea Verschraegen 12. Bulgaria Teodora Tsenova and Anton Petrov 13. Croatia Ivana Kunda 14. Cyprus Nikitas E Hatzimihail 15. Czech Republic Monika Pauknerová, Marta Zavadilová and Jirí Grygar 16. Finland Gustaf Möller 17. France Horatia Muir Watt, Sabine Corneloup, Laurence Usunier, Didier Boden,Jeremy Heymann and David Sindres 18. Greece Aspasia Archontaki and Paata Simsive 19. Hungary Csongor István Nagy 20. Ireland Maebh Harding 21. Latvia Irena Kucina 22. Lithuania Kristina Praneviciene 23. Luxembourg Céline Camara 24. Malta Antoine G Cremona, Clement Mifsud-Bonnici and Calvin Calleja 25. The Netherlands Aukje Van Hoek, Ian Sumner and Cathalijne van der Plas 26. Portugal Elsa Dias Oliveira, João Gomes de Almeida, Eugénia Galvão Teles, Susana Maltez and Raquel Correia 27. Romania Ileana M Smeureanu, Lucian Ilie and Alexandra Ema Dobre 28. Slovakia Miroslava Vozáryová and Katarína Burdová 29. Slovenia Suzana Kraljic 30. Sweden Michael Bogdan and Ulf Maunsbach 31. Promoting Efficient Litigation? Stephen Dnes 32. Data Analysis: Important Issues to be Considered in a Cross-border Context Mihail Danov Part III: Litigating Cross-border Civil and Commercial Disputes—A Europe of Law and Justice 33. Cross-border Civil and Commercial Disputes Before the Court of Justice of the European Union Paul Beaumont and Burcu Yüksel 34. Legal Certainty and Predictability in the EUPILLAR Project’s Regulations: An Assessment Carmen Otero García-Castrillón 35. Effective Remedies in Cross-border Civil and Commercial Law Disputes: A Case for an Institutional Reform at EU Level Mihail Danov and Paul Beaumont 36. Cross-border Contract Litigation in the EU Zheng Sophia Tang 37. Cross-border Non-contractual Disputes: The Legislative Framework and Court Practice Michael Wilderspin 38. Litigating Cross-border Intellectual Property Disputes in the EU Private International Law Framework Paul Torremans 39. Private Enforcement of Competition Law Jonathan Fitchen 40. The Relationship Between Litigation and ADR: Evaluating the Effect of the EU PIL Framework on ADR/Settlements in Cross-border Cases Mihail Danov and Stefania Bariatti Part IV: Litigating Cross-border Family Law Disputes—A Europe of Law and Justice 41. Court of Justice of the European Union’s Case Law on Family Law Matters Under Brussels IIa and Maintenance Paul Beaumont and Katarina Trimmings 42. Habitual Residence: The Factors that Courts Consider Thalia Kruger 43. No Deal Better than a Bad Deal—Child Abduction and the Brussels IIa Regulation Agnieszka Frackowiak-Adamska 44. New (and Old) Problems for Maintenance Creditors Under the EU Maintenance Regulation Lara Walker 45. Mediation in EU Cross-border Family Law Ruth Lamont 46. Matrimonial Matters Under the Brussels IIa Regulation Katarina Trimmings Part V: Conclusion 47. Cross-border Litigation in Europe: Some Theoretical Issues and Some Practical Challenges Paul Beaumont, Mihail Danov, Katarina Trimmings and Burcu Yüksel