European citizens, business people or law professionals looking for legal information in other EU countries have a new tool at their disposal, the site e-justice.europa.eu. The new 12,000-page portal, launched by the European Commission, the Council of Justice Ministers and MEPs, on 16 July in Brussels, aims to provide rapid answers to even the most precise questions and to help Europeans claim their rights at EU level.

According to the EU executive, what used to take weeks – eg for an Italian travelling in Germany to find a lawyer, a French entrepreneur to search the Hungarian land register, or an Estonian judge to get information about the Spanish court system – will now be a click away through the portal. Answers to these questions will be available “in 22 European languages”. The site is meant to become a “one-stop cyber shop,” an online information and advice centre on the countless legal questions that can come up from one EU country to the next.

More specifically, citizens, lawyers, notaries, judges and entrepreneurs will be able to find information and consequently have a better understanding of the different legal systems in the EU. The site will provide answers to real-life events in a cross-border context: divorce, death, litigation or moving house. Law professionals can have access to legal databases, contact colleagues through judicial networks or obtain information on judicial training or arranging cross-border video-conferences. Businesses can find links to insolvency and property registers and information about the laws that apply and about cross-border proceedings.

“We’re laying the foundations for more efficient and accessible justice for EU citizens,” declared Belgian Justice Minister Stefaan De Clerck, on behalf of the EU Presidency. “With knowledge comes trust and with trust comes the confidence that your rights will be protected no matter where you are in Europe,” commented Justice Commissioner Viviane Reding. She stressed that answers will be given quickly and in the applicant’s language: “We all know how crucial this is: justice delayed is justice denied”.

The site will cost €1.5 million over three years, notes the Commission, which will manage it. According to its figures, more than ten million citizens a year are parties to cross-border judicial proceedings. Internet users will be able to find a legal practitioner in another country or information on how to avoid a costly court case through mediation, where to bring a lawsuit, which member state’s law applies and whether they are eligible for legal aid.

NEXT STEPS

By 2011, the Commission hopes to flesh out the portal with fact sheets on defendants’ rights and victims’ rights, eg how road traffic offences are dealt with in different countries. Future versions will enable citizens to make a cross-border small claim or payment order online. Courts will be able to deal with cross-border requests online and communicate with claimants and defendants in a given case as well as with courts in other member states. By 2013, citizens will be able to narrow their searches for lawyers, eg a German-speaking lawyer who specialises in family or divorce law in Hungary.

EU-wide interoperability issues for e-signature, e-identity and e-payment still have to be tackled. Solutions are required in these areas for “full implementation of several e-Justice projects,” such as the European payment order or the small claims procedure, notes the Commission. .

The site will provide answers to real-life events in a cross-border context: divorce, death, litigation or moving house