Jurisdiction on Cross Border Consumer Contractual Disputes
Guidance on the rules of jurisdiction and applicable law. In 2001 the EU Member States agreed rules for deciding jurisdiction in civil and commercial disputes (Brussels Regulation). They are set out in the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Order 2001, which entered into force on 1 March 2002 (SI 2001 No. 3929).
The Brussels Regulation replaced the 1968 Brussels Convention (Implemented in UK law through the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982). EFTA countries apply the rules of the 1988 Lugano Convention, which is similar to the Brussels Convention. Because it has opted out of the Brussels Regulation, Denmark will continue to follow the rules of the Brussels Convention.
The following pages explain the changes introduced by the consumer provisions of the Brussels Regulation, as put into law through the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Order, The Rome Convention, and Jurisdiction outside the EU & EFTA.