Cross-border disputes addressed in revised Rome II pan

The aim of the Regulation is to achieve legal clarity where there is a conflict of laws between EU Member States in civil and commercial matters. The Regulation, known as Rome II, will apply to non-contractual obligations only.

Contractual cross-border disputes will be governed by another Regulation, known as Rome I, while the international jurisdiction of courts is governed by yet another Regulation – “Brussels I”.

The new Rome II text amends an earlier proposal adopted by the Commission in 2003, and takes into account amendments proposed by the European Parliament. These include amendments to uphold, in business-to-business relations, choice of law agreements entered into before the non-contractual obligation arises.

But the new text no longer covers defamation, following difficulties in finding acceptable wording.

Although the proposal doesn’t seek to harmonise the substance of national laws, its goal is to ensure that, when several courts from different Member States are involved in a cross border dispute relating to non-contractual obligations, they apply the same law for the solution of the case.

This, says the Commission, not only strikes a reasonable balance between the interests of the parties involved in a cross-border dispute, but will also facilitate the mutual recognition of court rulings in the European Union.

"This proposal, which affects every European citizen and business, is indispensable in achieving a European area of justice in which the outcome of a cross-border dispute is no longer wholly dependant on which Member States Court it is tried," said European Commission’s Vice President Franco Frattini, Commissioner responsible for Freedom, Security and Justice.