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Document 02007R0861-20170714
Regulation (EC) No 861/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 establishing a European Small Claims Procedure
Consolidated text: Regulation (EC) No 861/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 establishing a European Small Claims Procedure
Regulation (EC) No 861/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 establishing a European Small Claims Procedure
This consolidated text may not include the following amendments:
Amending act | Amendment type | Subdivision concerned | Date of effect |
---|---|---|---|
32023R2844 | Modified by | article 13 paragraph 1 point (a) | 01/05/2025 |
32023R2844 | Modified by | article 13 paragraph 1 point (b) | 01/05/2025 |
32023R2844 | Modified by | article 13 paragraph 2 | 01/05/2025 |
32023R2844 | Modified by | article 4 paragraph 1 | 01/05/2025 |
32023R2844 | Modified by | article 15a paragraph 2 | 01/05/2025 |
32023R2844 | Modified by | article 13 paragraph 1 point (c) | 01/05/2025 |
02007R0861 — EN — 14.07.2017 — 003.001
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REGULATION (EC) No 861/2007 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 11 July 2007 establishing a European Small Claims Procedure (OJ L 199 31.7.2007, p. 1) |
Amended by:
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Official Journal |
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No |
page |
date |
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L 158 |
1 |
10.6.2013 |
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REGULATION (EU) 2015/2421 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL of 16 December 2015 |
L 341 |
1 |
24.12.2015 |
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COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) 2017/1259 of 19 June 2017 |
L 182 |
1 |
13.7.2017 |
Corrected by:
REGULATION (EC) No 861/2007 OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL
of 11 July 2007
establishing a European Small Claims Procedure
CHAPTER I
SUBJECT MATTER AND SCOPE
Article 1
Subject matter
This Regulation establishes a European procedure for small claims (hereinafter referred to as the ‘European Small Claims Procedure’), intended to simplify and speed up litigation concerning small claims in cross-border cases, and to reduce costs. The European Small Claims Procedure shall be available to litigants as an alternative to the procedures existing under the laws of the Member States.
This Regulation also eliminates the intermediate proceedings necessary to enable recognition and enforcement, in other Member States, of judgments given in one Member State in the European Small Claims Procedure.
Article 2
Scope
This Regulation shall not apply to matters concerning:
the status or legal capacity of natural persons;
rights in property arising out of a matrimonial relationship or out of a relationship deemed by the law applicable to such relationship to have comparable effects to marriage;
maintenance obligations arising from a family relationship, parentage, marriage or affinity;
wills and succession, including maintenance obligations arising by reason of death;
bankruptcy, proceedings relating to the winding-up of insolvent companies or other legal persons, judicial arrangements, compositions and analogous proceedings;
social security;
arbitration;
employment law;
tenancies of immovable property, with the exception of actions on monetary claims; or
violations of privacy and of rights relating to personality, including defamation.
Article 3
Cross-border cases
CHAPTER II
THE EUROPEAN SMALL CLAIMS PROCEDURE
Article 4
Commencement of the Procedure
Where the court or tribunal considers the information provided by the claimant to be inadequate or insufficiently clear or if the claim form is not filled in properly, it shall, unless the claim appears to be clearly unfounded or the application inadmissible, give the claimant the opportunity to complete or rectify the claim form or to supply supplementary information or documents or to withdraw the claim, within such period as it specifies. The court or tribunal shall use standard Form B, as set out in Annex II, for this purpose.
Where the claim appears to be clearly unfounded or the application inadmissible or where the claimant fails to complete or rectify the claim form within the time specified, the application shall be dismissed. ►M2 The court or tribunal shall inform the claimant of such dismissal and whether an appeal is available against such dismissal. ◄
Article 5
Conduct of the Procedure
After receiving the properly filled in claim form, the court or tribunal shall fill in Part I of the standard answer Form C, as set out in Annex III.
A copy of the claim form, and, where applicable, of the supporting documents, together with the answer form thus filled in, shall be served on the defendant in accordance with Article 13. These documents shall be dispatched within 14 days of receiving the properly filled in claim form.
Any counterclaim, to be submitted using standard Form A, and any relevant supporting documents shall be served on the claimant in accordance with Article 13. Those documents shall be dispatched within 14 days of receipt.
The claimant shall have 30 days from service to respond to any counterclaim.
If the counterclaim exceeds the limit set out in Article 2(1), the claim and counterclaim shall not proceed in the European Small Claims Procedure but shall be dealt with in accordance with the relevant procedural law applicable in the Member State in which the procedure is conducted.
Articles 2 and 4 as well as paragraphs 3, 4 and 5 of this Article shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to counterclaims.
Article 6
Languages
Where a party has refused to accept a document because it is not in either of the following languages:
the official language of the Member State addressed, or, if there are several official languages in that Member State, the official language or one of the official languages of the place where service is to be effected or to where the document is to be dispatched; or
a language which the addressee understands,
the court or tribunal shall so inform the other party with a view to that party providing a translation of the document.
Article 7
Conclusion of the Procedure
Within 30 days of receipt of the response from the defendant or the claimant within the time limits laid down in Article 5(3) or (6), the court or tribunal shall give a judgment, or:
demand further details concerning the claim from the parties within a specified period of time, not exceeding 30 days;
take evidence in accordance with Article 9; or
summon the parties to an oral hearing to be held within 30 days of the summons.
Article 8
Oral hearing
Where the person to be heard is domiciled or habitually resident in a Member State other than the Member State of the court or tribunal seised, that person's attendance at an oral hearing by way of videoconference, teleconference or other appropriate distance communication technology shall be arranged by making use of the procedures provided for in Council Regulation (EC) No 1206/2001 ( 2 ).
Article 9
Taking of evidence
Article 10
Representation of parties
Representation by a lawyer or another legal professional shall not be mandatory.
Article 11
Assistance for the parties
Article 12
Remit of the court or tribunal
Article 13
Service of documents and other written communications
The documents referred to in Article 5(2) and (6) and judgments given in accordance with Article 7 shall be served:
by postal service, or
by electronic means:
where such means are technically available and admissible in accordance with the procedural rules of the Member State in which the European Small Claims Procedure is conducted and, if the party to be served is domiciled or habitually resident in another Member State, in accordance with the procedural rules of that Member State; and
where the party to be served has expressly accepted in advance that documents may be served on him by electronic means or is, in accordance with the procedural rules of the Member State in which that party is domiciled or habitually resident, under a legal obligation to accept that specific method of service.
The service shall be attested by an acknowledgment of receipt including the date of receipt.
If communication in accordance with paragraph 2 is not possible, or, on account of the particular circumstances of the case, not appropriate, any other method of communication admissible under the law of the Member State in which the European Small Claims Procedure is conducted may be used.
Article 14
Time limits
Article 15
Enforceability of the judgment
Article 15a
Court fees and methods of payment
The Member States shall ensure that the parties can pay the court fees by means of distance payment methods which allow the parties to make the payment also from a Member State other than the Member State in which the court or tribunal is situated, by offering at least one of the following methods of payment:
bank transfer;
credit or debit card payment; or
direct debit from the claimant's bank account.
Article 16
Costs
The unsuccessful party shall bear the costs of the proceedings. However, the court or tribunal shall not award costs to the successful party to the extent that they were unnecessarily incurred or are disproportionate to the claim.
Article 17
Appeal
Article 18
Review of the judgment in exceptional cases
A defendant who did not enter an appearance shall be entitled to apply for a review of the judgment given in the European Small Claims Procedure before the competent court or tribunal of the Member State in which the judgment was given, where:
the defendant was not served with the claim form, or, in the event of an oral hearing, was not summoned to that hearing, in sufficient time and in such a way as to enable him to arrange for his defence; or
the defendant was prevented from contesting the claim by reason of force majeure or due to extraordinary circumstances without any fault on his part,
unless the defendant failed to challenge the judgment when it was possible for him to do so.
If the court decides that a review is justified on any of the grounds set out in paragraph 1, the judgment given in the European Small Claims Procedure shall be null and void. However, the claimant shall not lose the benefit of any interruption of prescription or limitation periods where such an interruption applies under national law.
Article 19
Applicable procedural law
Subject to the provisions of this Regulation, the European Small Claims Procedure shall be governed by the procedural law of the Member State in which the procedure is conducted.
CHAPTER III
RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT IN ANOTHER MEMBER STATE
Article 20
Recognition and enforcement
Article 21
Enforcement procedure
Without prejudice to the provisions of this Chapter, the enforcement procedures shall be governed by the law of the Member State of enforcement.
Any judgment given in the European Small Claims Procedure shall be enforced under the same conditions as a judgment given in the Member State of enforcement.
The party seeking enforcement shall produce:
a copy of the judgment which satisfies the conditions necessary to establish its authenticity; and
the certificate referred to in Article 20(2) and, where necessary, the translation thereof into the official language of the Member State of enforcement or, if there are several official languages in that Member State, the official language or one of the official languages of court or tribunal proceedings of the place where enforcement is sought in conformity with the law of that Member State, or into another language that the Member State of enforcement has indicated it can accept.
The party seeking the enforcement of a judgment given in the European Small Claims Procedure in another Member State shall not be required to have:
an authorised representative; or
a postal address
in the Member State of enforcement, other than with agents having competence for the enforcement procedure.
Article 21a
Language of the certificate
Article 22
Refusal of enforcement
Enforcement shall, upon application by the person against whom enforcement is sought, be refused by the court or tribunal with jurisdiction in the Member State of enforcement if the judgment given in the European Small Claims Procedure is irreconcilable with an earlier judgment given in any Member State or in a third country, provided that:
the earlier judgment involved the same cause of action and was between the same parties;
the earlier judgment was given in the Member State of enforcement or fulfils the conditions necessary for its recognition in the Member State of enforcement; and
the irreconcilability was not and could not have been raised as an objection in the court or tribunal proceedings in the Member State where the judgment in the European Small Claims Procedure was given.
Article 23
Stay or limitation of enforcement
Where a party has challenged a judgment given in the European Small Claims Procedure or where such a challenge is still possible, or where a party has made an application for review within the meaning of Article 18, the court or tribunal with jurisdiction or the competent authority in the Member State of enforcement may, upon application by the party against whom enforcement is sought:
limit the enforcement proceedings to protective measures;
make enforcement conditional on the provision of such security as it shall determine; or
under exceptional circumstances, stay the enforcement proceedings.
Article 23a
Court settlements
A court settlement approved by or concluded before a court or tribunal in the course of the European Small Claims Procedure and that is enforceable in the Member State in which the procedure was conducted shall be recognised and enforced in another Member State under the same conditions as a judgment given in the European Small Claims Procedure.
The provisions of Chapter III shall apply, mutatis mutandis, to court settlements.
CHAPTER IV
FINAL PROVISIONS
Article 24
Information
The Member States shall cooperate to provide the general public and professional circles with information on the European Small Claims Procedure, including costs, in particular by way of the European Judicial Network in Civil and Commercial Matters established in accordance with Decision 2001/470/EC.
Article 25
Information to be provided by Member States
By 13 January 2017, the Member States shall communicate to the Commission:
the courts or tribunals competent to give a judgment in the European Small Claims Procedure;
the means of communication accepted for the purposes of the European Small Claims Procedure and available to the courts or tribunals in accordance with Article 4(1);
the authorities or organisations competent to provide practical assistance in accordance with Article 11;
the means of electronic service and communication technically available and admissible under their procedural rules in accordance with Article 13(1), (2) and (3), and the means, if any, for expressing acceptance in advance of the use of electronic means as required by Article 13(1) and (2) available under their national law;
the persons or types of professions, if any, under a legal obligation to accept service of documents or other written communications by electronic means in accordance with Article 13(1) and (2);
the court fees of the European Small Claims Procedure or how they are calculated, as well as the methods of payment accepted for the payment of court fees in accordance with Article 15a;
any appeal available under their procedural law in accordance with Article 17, the time period within which such an appeal is to be lodged, and the court or tribunal with which such an appeal may be lodged;
the procedures for applying for a review as provided for in Article 18 and the competent courts or tribunals for such a review;
the languages they accept pursuant to Article 21a(1); and
the authorities competent with respect to enforcement and the authorities competent for the purposes of the application of Article 23.
Member States shall inform the Commission of any subsequent changes to that information.
Article 26
Amendment of the Annexes
The Commission shall be empowered to adopt delegated acts in accordance with Article 27 concerning the amendment of Annexes I to IV.
Article 27
Exercise of the delegation
Article 28
Review
By 15 July 2022, the Commission shall present to the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee a report on the operation of this Regulation, including an evaluation as to whether:
a further increase of the limit referred to in Article 2(1) is appropriate in order to attain the objective of this Regulation of facilitating access to justice for citizens and small and medium-sized enterprises in cross-border cases; and
an extension of the scope of the European Small Claims Procedure, in particular to claims for remuneration, is appropriate to facilitate access to justice for employees in cross-border employment disputes with their employer, after considering the full impact of such an extension.
That report shall be accompanied, if appropriate, by legislative proposals.
To that end and by 15 July 2021, Member States shall provide the Commission with information relating to the number of applications under the European Small Claims Procedure as well as the number of requests for enforcement of judgments given in the European Small Claims Procedure.
Article 29
Entry into force
This Regulation shall enter into force on the day following its publication in the Official Journal of the European Union.
It shall apply from 1 January 2009, with the exception of Article 25, which shall apply from 1 January 2008.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in the Member States in accordance with the Treaty establishing the European Community.
ANNEX I