THE TYPE OF LEGAL ACTS CHOSEN BY THE EUROPEAN UNION LEGISLATURE WHEN REGULATING CONFLICT OF COMPETENCE IN CIVIL MATTERS
THE TYPE OF LEGAL ACTS CHOSEN BY THE EUROPEAN UNION LEGISLATURE WHEN REGULATING CONFLICT OF COMPETENCE IN CIVIL MATTERS

Summary/Abstract: The establishment of a single market and the free movement of persons and goods has gradually led to an increase in the number of cross-border disputes in civil matters within the European Union, which in turn has led to conflicts of competence between the national courts of the Member States. The purpose of this article is to identify the type of legal acts adopted by the European Union in the event of conflict of competence in civil matters, starting from their characteristics and the reasoning of the Union legislature in choosing this form. Of the five types of legal acts adopted by the Union institutions, we concluded that the conflict of competence could only be legislated by means of a regulation, because it is binding in its entirety and directly applicable immediately, without requiring transposition into the national law of the Member States. The Union legislator also had in mind reasons specific to the acts adopted, such as eliminating disparities between national rules governing jurisdiction, improving access to justice, preventing fragmentation of the internal market and the need to ensure a high degree of predictability as regards the national court having jurisdiction to hear a civil dispute of a cross- border nature. Finally, we would add that it is very important for all participants at the act of justice to be aware of the features of the legal acts enacted by the EU legislature in the case of conflict of competence in civil matters and the place of these acts in the hierarchy of EU rules, so as to achieve the objectives of the Union mentioned in the previous paragraph.

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