Scope:

Regulation (EC) No. 1206/2001

Evaluation findings:

Overall, the Regulation has made a contribution to achieving its general, specific and operational objectives. The introduction of common methods for taking evidence has been welcomed by practitioners. The introduction of standard forms and communication channels has facilitated communication. The Regulation has improved the efficiency of legal proceedings — both as compared with the Hague Convention and over time between 2001 and 2017. It thus contributes to an area of freedom, security and justice, and the smooth functioning of the internal market. It increases mutual trust between courts and helps to reduce the burden for citizens and businesses engaged in cross-border proceedings.

Estimated savings and benefits

The evaluation identified some obstacles that indicate that there is room for improvement. These obstacles relate to delays and costs for businesses and citizens caused by failure to exploit the potential of modern technologies for speedier communication and the direct taking of evidence. The most striking examples are failure to use electronic communication in exchanges between Member States’ courts and authorities, which are still predominantly paper-based, and the marginal use of electronic communication, in particular videoconferencing, for the direct taking of evidence. The Regulation does not currently require the uptake of modern technologies in the judiciary. The fact that this depends entirely on Member States’ individual efforts and the overall move towards digitalisation has led to very slow progress, in absolute terms and also in comparison with the use of modern technologies in domestic settings.

Which objective(s) does the Commission pursue?

The proposal aims to improve the smooth functioning of the area of freedom, security and justice, and of the internal market, by increasing the efficiency and speed of the cross-border taking of evidence. It will achieve this by adapting Regulation (EC) No 1206/2001 to technical developments, exploiting the advantages of digitalisation and ensuring that more use is made of videoconferencing. The initiative increases legal certainty and thereby helps to avoid delays and undue costs for citizens, businesses and public administrations and addresses shortcomings in the protection of parties’ procedural rights.

Estimated savings and benefits

The impact assessment accompanying the proposal (SWD(2018) 285) estimates that annual cost savings of approximately EUR 6-15 million across the EU could be generated by the electronic transmission of requests for the taking of evidence. Citizens, business and public administration will also benefit from reduced costs through the transmission of the evidence taken through electronic channels between the designed authorities.

The proposal encourages furthermore the use of videoconferencing in the cross-border taking of evidence (hearing a person in another Member State). The cost of a cross-border hearing of a party or of a witness carried out via videoconferencing is typically EUR100, against EUR 400 and EUR 800 for a physical hearing. The impact assessment estimates that the increased use of videoconferencing can lead to savings of EUR 216 million across the EU, approximately EUR 8 million per Member State.