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Introduction to the Preparatory Stage of Civil Proceedings

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Current Trends in Preparatory Proceedings

Abstract

The main hearing model used in civil proceedings may enhance the efficiency of civil litigation. The preparatory stage is a key ingredient in the model, enabling case management, clarification of issues and concentration of the case to the disputed questions. It may also facilitate judicial settlement efforts and early disposal of cases. In recent decades, the main hearing model has been implemented in several European countries that utilise common law, Nordic law, Germanic civil law and Romanic civil law. Moreover, international model principles of civil procedure are based on the model. The core assumptions of the preparatory proceedings are adapted to the local legal culture and tradition. Many of the former communist countries, by contrast, still have a piecemeal type of civil proceedings. The pleadings stage is followed by several short hearings where the evidence and arguments are collected. This introductory chapter introduces the reader to the assumptions and concepts behind preparatory proceedings and their role in the main hearing model. Other structures of civil proceedings are discussed briefly. The connection between promotion of amicable solutions through court-connected mediation and judicial settlement efforts and preliminary proceedings is also studied.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    See Andrews (2003), pp. 33–36, Friedenthal et al. (2005), pp. 2–3 and Marcus et al. (2009), pp. 1–2.

  2. 2.

    Stürner (2005), p. 225 also uses the term preparatory. See also Murray and Stürner (2004), p. 191 ff.

  3. 3.

    The term Nordic and the term Scandinavia refer to the same five countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden. Nordic is more precise, but in this book, Nordic and Scandinavian are used interchangeably. Iceland is not part of this study.

  4. 4.

    Ervo (2014, 2015).

  5. 5.

    See Chap. 5.

  6. 6.

    See Damaška (1986), Cappelletti and Garth (1987), pp. 8–10, Stürner (2002, 2005), Amrani-Mekki (2010).

  7. 7.

    Stürner (2002), Uzelac (2010), Galič (2015).

  8. 8.

    Varano (1997), Stürner (2005), pp. 223–225 and 237–239, Hazard et al. (2001), pp. 773–778.

  9. 9.

    Uzelac (2010), Chaps. 5, 7 and 8.

  10. 10.

    Damaška (1986), pp. 50–51.

  11. 11.

    See SOU 1982: 86 Sveriges Offentliga Utredningar. Översyn av Rättegångsbalken 1. Processen i tingsrätt Del B. Motiv m.m. Delbetänkande av rättegångsutredningen, pp. 82–85.

  12. 12.

    Woolf (1996), p. 59 ff.

  13. 13.

    The Spanish civil procedure is based on the model Díez-Picazo Giménez (2005) and Stürner (2005), pp. 224–225.

  14. 14.

    Stürner (2002), Amrani-Mekki (2010), Cadiet (2010), Chase and Walker (2010), Damaška (2010), Glenn (2010), Taruffo (2010).

  15. 15.

    (Prütting (2002), pp. 319–321 and Trocker and Varano (2005).

  16. 16.

    Principle 9.

  17. 17.

    See Stürner (2005), pp. 223–225.

  18. 18.

    See Kramer (2014), p. 4 and 11.

  19. 19.

    Kramer (2014), p. 9.

  20. 20.

    Kramer (2014), pp. 7–8.

  21. 21.

    Andrews (2013), pp. 198–203 and Zuckerman (2005), p. 149.

  22. 22.

    See Kramer (2014), pp. 8–9.

  23. 23.

    Andrews (2013), pp. 197–202.

  24. 24.

    Galič (2014).

  25. 25.

    Uzelac (2014), pp. 5–19 and 25–26 and Ervo (2013).

  26. 26.

    Hazard et al. (2001), pp. 773 and 777–778. Case management has been debated and criticised in the United States, see e.g. Marcus (1993) and Gensler (2010).

  27. 27.

    Zuckerman (2013), pp. 128–130. See also Uzelac (2014), pp. 19–23.

  28. 28.

    Andrews (2003), pp. 333–361.

  29. 29.

    Andrews (2003), p. 343.

  30. 30.

    Hazard et al. (2001), p. 774 and 778.

  31. 31.

    See principle 24 of the ALI/UNIDROIT Principles of Transnational Civil Procedure (2004). For a history on the development of mediation, see Menkel-Meadow (2001).

  32. 32.

    Court-connected mediation is also referred to as court-annexed mediation, in-court mediation, and court-conducted mediation.

  33. 33.

    For more details on the definitions, see Chap. 9.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Law, University of Tromsø – The Arctic University of Norway, 9037, Tromsø, Norway

    Anna Nylund

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  1. School of Law,Psychology and Social Work, University of Örebro, Örebro, Sweden

    Laura Ervo

  2. Faculty of Law, University of Tromsø, Tromsø, Norway

    Anna Nylund

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Nylund, A. (2016). Introduction to the Preparatory Stage of Civil Proceedings. In: Ervo, L., Nylund, A. (eds) Current Trends in Preparatory Proceedings . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29325-7_1

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