The EU Approach to Parallel Litigation in Civil Matters

The EU has enacted a body of uniform rules to deal with the jurisdiction of Member States’ courts in civil and commercial matters and the mutual recognition and enforcement of their judgments. Those rules are meant to increase legal certainty and facilitate the judicial protection of the rights of individuals and businesses. They contribute, as such, to the proper functioning of the internal market, an area ‘without internal frontiers’, encompassing all Member States, ‘in which the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital is ensured’ in accordance with EU law. Crucial to the achievement of the goal of judicial integration underlying the above measures is the proper handling of parallel litigation, as it occurs where the courts of two or more States are simultaneously seised of the same or related ac-tions. Parallel litigation entails, in fact, a risk that the same matter might form the object of inconsistent rulings. This would defeat legal certainty and undermine the efforts of the EU legislator aimed at streamlining cross-border litigation. The legislative measures of the EU concerning jurisdiction and the effectiveness of judgments almost invariably include provisions on lis pendens and related actions. The chapter discusses the concerns underlying the latter provisions and their manner of operation, with a focus on Articles 29-34 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Brussels I bis).