EU opt out concern (Diana Wallis MEP)

Diana Wallis MEP <info@dianawallismep.org.uk>

EU opt out concern

May 11, 2006 12:00 AM
By Catherine Baksi in Law Society Gazette

The UK has opted out of proposed EU legislation on maintenance obligations and is set to do so on proposed changes to contract law regulations, moves which could deprive UK citizens of better legal redress, it has been claimed.

The maintenance proposals would give the parties in a family law dispute the choice of resolving the matter in the member state where either was habitually resident. The matter would be determined by the law of the country in which the creditor was habitually resident, unless otherwise agreed, which could have the effect of making the English courts apply the law of a foreign jurisdiction.

Andrea Woelke, chairman of the international committee of family law association Resolution, said: 'The present law, which means a party has to go to a foreign court to get an order enforced, is not great. I would have hoped we could be part of this and there would be one law for the EU.'

The contract law proposals, known as Rome 1, would give the courts discretion to give effect to mandatory rules of other jurisdictions where there was a close connection with the contract, regardless of what was said in the contract in dispute.

The City of London Law Society feared this would create delay and act as a disincentive for the choice of English law and jurisdiction in commercial transactions.

Allen & Overy partner Edward Murray, a member of the society's financial law committee, said there was an advantage in having the same set of rules across Europe, but he added: 'I would rather have the current ones, than new bad ones.'

Diana Wallis MEP, Liberal Democrat spokeswoman on legal affairs, claimed the government had 'caved in to a few strident voices from the judiciary and business interests. This will deprive many citizens and enterprises of better systems of legal redress due to be offered across the EU'.