contact points designated by the Member States, in accordance with paragraph 2;

central bodies and central authorities provided for in Community instruments, instruments of international law to which the Member States are parties or rules of domestic law in the area of judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters;

the liaison magistrates to whom Joint Action 96/277/JHA of 22 April 1996 concerning a framework for the exchange of liaison magistrates to improve judicial cooperation between the Member States of the European Union ( 1 ) applies, where they have responsibilities in judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters;

any other appropriate judicial or administrative authority with responsibilities for judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters whose membership of the Network is considered to be useful by the Member State to which it belongs;

professional associations representing, at national level in the Member States, legal practitioners directly involved in the application of Community and international instruments concerning judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters.

the communication facilities available to them;

their knowledge of languages; and

where appropriate, their specific functions in the Network, including, where there is more than one contact point, their specific responsibilities.

facilitating judicial cooperation between the Member States in civil and commercial matters, including devising, progressively establishing and updating an information system for the members of the Network;

facilitating effective access to justice, through measures providing information on the working of Community and international instruments concerning judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters.

the smooth operation of procedures having a cross-border impact and the facilitation of requests for judicial cooperation between the Member States, in particular where no Community or international instrument is applicable;

the effective and practical application of Community instruments or conventions in force between two or more Member States.

In particular where the law of another Member State is applicable, the courts or authorities responsible for the matter may apply to the Network for information on the content of that law;

the establishment, maintenance and promotion of an information system for the public on judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters in the European Union, on relevant Community and international instruments and on the domestic law of the Member States, with particular reference to access to justice.

The main source of information shall be the Network’s website containing up-to-date information in all the official languages of the institutions of the Union.

ensure that the local judicial authorities receive general information concerning the Community and international instruments relating to judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters. In particular, they shall ensure that the Network, including the website of the Network, is better known to the local judicial authorities;

supply the other contact points, the authorities mentioned in Article 2(1)(b) to (d) and the local judicial authorities in their own Member State with all the information needed for sound judicial cooperation between the Member States in accordance with Article 3, in order to assist them in preparing operable requests for judicial cooperation and in establishing the most appropriate direct contacts;

supply any information to facilitate the application of the law of another Member State that is applicable under a Community or international instrument. To this end, the contact point to which such a request is addressed may draw on the support of any of the other authorities in its Member State referred to in Article 2 in order to supply the information requested. The information contained in the reply shall not be binding on the contact point, the authorities consulted or the authority which made the request;

seek solutions to difficulties arising on the occasion of a request for judicial cooperation, without prejudice to paragraph 4 of this Article and to Article 6;

facilitate coordination of the processing of requests for judicial cooperation in the relevant Member State, in particular where several requests from the judicial authorities in that Member State fall to be executed in another Member State;

contribute to generally informing the public, through the Network’s website, on judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters in the European Union, on relevant Community and international instruments and on the domestic law of the Member States, with particular reference to access to justice;

collaborate in the organisation of, and participate in, the meetings referred to in Article 9;

assist with the preparation and updating of the information referred to in Title III, and in particular with the information system for the public, in accordance with the rules laid down in that Title;

ensure coordination between members of the Network at national level;

draw up a two-yearly report on their activities, including, where appropriate, best practice in the Network, submit it at a meeting of the members of the Network, and draw specific attention to possible improvements in the Network.

exchange of experience and information as regards the effective and practical application of Community and international instruments;

collaboration in the preparation and updating of the information sheets referred to in Article 15;

participation of the professional associations in relevant meetings.

enable the contact points to get to know each other and exchange experience, in particular as regards the operation of the Network;

provide a platform for discussion of practical and legal problems encountered by the Member States in the course of judicial cooperation, with particular reference to the application of measures adopted by the European Community;

identify best practices in judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters and ensure that relevant information is disseminated within the Network;

exchange data and views, in particular on the structure, organisation and content of and access to the available information mentioned in Title III;

draw up guidelines for progressively establishing the practical information sheets provided for by Article 15, in particular as regards the subject matter to be covered and the form of such information sheets;

identify specific initiatives other than those referred to in Title III which pursue comparable objectives.

the information referred to in Article 2(5);

any further information deemed useful by the contact points for the proper functioning of the Network;

the information referred to in Article 8.

Community instruments in force or in preparation relating to judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters;

national measures for the domestic implementation of the instruments in force referred to in point (a);

international instruments in force relating to judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters to which the Member States are parties, and declarations and reservations made in connection with such instruments;

the relevant elements of Community case-law in the area of judicial cooperation in civil and commercial matters;

the information sheets provided for by Article 15.

principles of the legal system and judicial organisation of the Member States;

procedures for bringing cases to court, with particular reference to small claims, and subsequent court procedures, including appeal possibilities and procedures;

conditions and procedures for obtaining legal aid, including descriptions of the tasks of non-governmental organisations active in this field, account being taken of work already done in the Dialogue with Citizens;

national rules governing the service of documents;

rules and procedures for the enforcement of judgments given in other Member States;

possibilities and procedures for obtaining interim relief measures, with particular reference to seizures of assets for the purposes of enforcement;

alternative dispute-settlement possibilities, with an indication of the national information and advice centres of the Community-wide Network for the Extra-Judicial Settlement of Consumer Disputes;

organisation and operation of the legal professions.