Spaans minister van Justitie pleit voor vrij verkeer van rechterlijke uitspraken (en)

“The fewer hurdles there are in place when it comes to recognising and carrying out court decisions passed by one member state in another, the greater the cost savings”, says Minister Caamaño

Spain's Minister for Justice, Francisco Caamaño, today (Monday) described the free movement of court rulings and public documents about merchandise, people, services and capital as "an instrument of economic policy and a means of working towards the creation of a European legal area”.

Caamaño made this statement during the opening of the seminar ‘Brussels I: the reform of international litigation in Europe’ in Madrid, during which 38 European experts will discuss issues such as the suppression of the ‘exequatur’ procedure, respect for contractual clauses on choice of jurisdiction, appropriate protection of intellectual property in its various forms and in the face of new infringements, and the best way of ensuring that arbitration is effective.

The EU's Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship, Viviane Reding, also took part in the opening session of the seminar, along with the Dean of Madrid's Colegio de Abogados (College of Lawyers), Antonio Hernández-Gil.

During his speech, the Spanish Minister of Justice stressed that "the fewer hurdles there are when it comes to recognising and carrying out court decisions passed by one member state in another, the greater the savings we will be able to pass on to the public and to companies". He also added that, "in the same way that work is being done to simplify the administrative burden, work should also be done to simplify the regulations around mutual recognition”.

Caamaño stressed that “this is the goal we should be aiming for”, as also recognised in both the new Article 81 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union and the Stockholm Programme, approved by the Prime Ministers and Heads of State at the European Council meeting in December.

The Minister hopes that this meeting “will provide significant help for the Commission when it comes to prepare its proposal”.

The aim of this seminar, organised by the Ministry of Justice as one of the events being held under the Spanish Presidency of the European Union, as well as the European Commission and the College of Lawyers of Madrid, is to make progress on breaking down barriers in order to strengthen direct judicial cooperation, in the area of judicial powers as well as in recognition of rulings made on both civil and commercial matters.