Fast-Tracking the Resolution of Minor Disputes : Experience from EU Member States
The costs and long duration of court proceedings can be discouraging, and for the poor and micro and small enterprises (MSMEs) it can preclude access to justice entirely. According to the latest CEPEJ data, in 2014 disposition time of first instanc...
| Main Authors: | , |
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| Format: | Report |
| Language: | English en_US |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2017
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/670181487131729316/Fast-tracking-the-resolution-of-minor-disputes-experience-from-EU-Member-States http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26100 |
| Summary: | The costs and long duration of court
proceedings can be discouraging, and for the poor and micro
and small enterprises (MSMEs) it can preclude access to
justice entirely. According to the latest CEPEJ data, in
2014 disposition time of first instance civil and commercial
litigious cases ranged from 97 days in Lithuania to 532 in
Italy, with an overall EU average of 250 days.2 Costs
(comprising both lawyer and court fees) can sometimes be
greater than the value of the claim. Legislators around the
world have long recognized that disputes concerning smaller
claims may not require the same complex procedures and
rules; instead, they can be resolved in a cheaper and more
efficient manner. Although small claims procedure is not a
new phenomenon and has existed for decades, it has only
recently gained traction. Factors such as popular demand
spur more and more countries into looking for new and faster
ways to deal with smaller claims, as citizens are looking
for simpler, ICT-enabled ways to resolve smaller disputes.
This report provides a comparative analysis of small claims
procedure in the 28 EU Member States, including lessons
learned and good practices, to inform EU members and
candidate countries looking to introduce or reform their
small claims procedure. It considers a number of dimensions,
namely: court fees, thresholds, institutional set-up, use of
technology, the role of lawyers, lawyer fees, and avenues of appeal. |
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