EU Cross-Border Civil and Commercial Litigation: Interim Protection and Tracing of Assets

Our comprehensive course on civil interim measures in cross-border litigation at the EU level will familiarise you with the Brussels I-bis Regulation, the European Account Preservation Order (EAPO) regulation; and the different tools that exist at the EU level to trace the debtors’ assets.

These interim measures are key proceedings to secure the enforcement of claims. They serve to maintain the status quo between the parties while the claim is being decided by the court. The importance of interim measures is even greater in cross-border claims than in purely domestic claims. The delays and additional difficulties associated with the cross-border character of claims make it even more necessary to secure claims for future enforcement.

At the EU level, there are a number of cross-border litigation instruments that contain specific provisions intended to facilitate obtaining provisional measures, such as the Brussels I-bis Regulation. The European Account Preservation Order (EAPO) is the first EU cross-border civil interim measure.

Tracing the debtors’ assets is another challenge that claimants can experience in cross-border litigation. This is the reason why the EAPO Regulation contains a specific mechanism to search for the debtors’ bank accounts. When creditors with a title request an EAPO, they can also apply to obtain information about the debtors’ bank accounts. The court that examines the EAPO application would send a request to search for the bank accounts to an information authority in the Member State where the bank accounts are suspected to exist. This information authority is responsible for searching for the bank accounts and providing the information to the requesting court. The Maintenance Regulation also introduced a similar mechanism to trace the debtors’ assets.

What you will learn

In this course our experts will focus on:

• how the Court of Justice of the European Union has interpreted the provisional measures regime of the Brussels I-bis Regulation,
• which prerequisites are necessary to obtain an EAPO;
• how to obtain information about debtors’ bank accounts,
• different strategies to effectively obtain the provisional attachment of the debtor’s assets.

Course methodology/highlights

The course will rely on a system of lectures and case studies, as well as relevant Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and national judgments. Participants will also receive a list of bibliographical sources, and CJEU and national case law.

Interested to learn more about cross-border dispute resolution in civil and commercial matters? We are offering a series of related courses for you in Luxembourg: Cross-Border Judicial Cooperation in Civil Matters (18 October) | Cross-Border Judicial Cooperation Tools (25 October) | Cross-Border Debt Recovery: EU Proceedings (7-8 November)

This course will help the participant to become acquainted with the interim measures regime under the Brussels I-bis Regulation and the EAPO, as well as how to trace the debtor’s assets in cross-border claims.

Taking a realistic approach and using practical examples, the course will provide participants with knowledge about:

• the double-track jurisdictional regime for interim measures of the Brussels I-bis Regulation;
• the main Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) judgments on the interim measures regime of the Brussels I-bis Regulation;
• the prerequisites to obtain an EAPO;
• the debtor’s remedies to contest an EAPO;
• the EAPO’s information mechanism to search for the debtors’ bank accounts;
• the Maintenance Regulation mechanism to trace the debtors’ assets;
• mapping different mechanisms at the national level on how to search for the debtors’ assets.

This course is designed for:

• EU and national civil servants;
• lawyers and in-house counsels dealing with transnational civil and commercial litigation;
• national judges.

Project number: 2451001

Course venue
European Centre for Judges and Lawyers – EIPA Luxembourg
8 rue Nicolas Adames
1114 Luxembourg

Fee
The fee includes documentation, refreshments and lunches. Accommodation and travel costs are at the expense of the participants or their administration.

Discounts
EIPA member fee
EIPA offers a discount to all civil servants working for one of EIPA’s supporting countries, and civil servants working for an EU institution, body or agency.

Who are the supporting countries?
Civil servants coming from the following EIPA supporting countries are entitled to get the reduced fee: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden.

For all other participants, the regular fee applies.

Early bird discount
The early bird discount is not cumulative with other discounts or promo codes, except for the EIPA member fee.

Loyalty coupon
As a token of appreciation we offer all our participants a loyalty coupon for one of our future courses. The offer can be shared with colleagues and relevant networks. The coupon will expire one year after its release. This discount is not cumulative with other discounts, except for the EIPA member fee.

Meals
Dietary preferences can be indicated on the registration form.

Hotel reservations
EIPA has special price arrangements with a number of hotels. Most rates are including breakfast and tourist tax. Should you wish to make use of this possibility, please book directly via the links below. Payment is to be made directly and personally to the hotel upon checking out.

Kirchberg

• Hotel D’Coque***, via https://www.coque.lu/coque-hotel-superior/online-booking, tel.: +352 43 60 60 222

Luxembourg Centre

• Hotel Parc Plaza****, at the rate of €182, (Reservation code: EIPA0118): https://www.goereshotels.com/parc-plaza-en
• Hotel Parc Bellevue***, at the rate of €150, (Reservation code: EIPA0118): https://www.goereshotels.com/belle-vue-en: +352 44 23 23 23 23; e-mail: reservation@goereshotels.com;
• Hotel Simoncini****, at the rate of €190, tel.: +352 22 28 44; e-mail: simhotel@pt.lu or simoncinihotel@pt.lu; https://www.hotelsimoncini.lu/.

Confirmation
Confirmation of registration will be forwarded to participants on receipt of the completed online registration form.

Payment
Prior payment is a condition for participation.

Cancellation policy
For administrative reasons you will be charged €150 for cancellations received within 15 days before the activity begins. There is no charge for qualified substitute participants. EIPA reserves the right to cancel the activity up to 2 weeks before the starting date. In that case, registration fees received will be fully reimbursed. EIPA accepts no responsibility for any costs incurred (travel, accommodation, etc.).

A few days before the start of the course you will receive the log-in details for accessing the course materials. You can log in here.