General Provisions

This chapter discusses the general provisions concerning the operation of the European Rules of Civil Procedure. It defines the scope of these Rules, limiting their application to domestic and cross-border civil and commercial disputes. It does so by reference to the definition of such disputes that is commonly accepted throughout Europe. The chapter then looks at the overarching procedural duties that are imposed upon the court, parties, and their lawyers. The most significant of these duties are the duty of co-operation, which is understood in these Rules to be of fundamental importance to the effective and proper administration of justice, and the general principle of proportionality in dispute resolution, which has itself become an increasingly important procedural principle across Europe since the start of the 21st century. Finally, the chapter articulates and, in some cases, gives concrete effect to the fundamental procedural principles that are inherent in the right to fair trial.