Developments in European Civil Procedures

This chapter is structured as follows. In Section B we explore the legal basis for the creation of European civil procedures and Europeanization of procedural private law in general. In Section C we provide an overview of existing EU instruments on civil procedure, which we propose to divide into three groups: optional instruments, horizontal instruments, and sector-specific instruments, enacted on the legal basis of Article 114 TFEU but nevertheless catching civil procedure within their scope. In Section D we focus on the recently amended European Small Claims Procedure and we draw attention to the missed opportunity of creating more synergy between the ESCP and ADR/ODR regulatory framework. We argue that the European ODR platform can be instrumental in raising awareness about the ESCP and that national courts employing the ESCP should encourage parties to consider more cost-effective ADR processes. Section E concludes.