The State of Play of the Recast of the Brussels I Regulation

The most important elements of the Commission’s Proposal of 14 December 2010 for a new Brussels I Regulation presently under negotiation are discussed. The negotiations are likely to end during the second half of 2012. The Commission focuses on four subjects. First, the Commission proposes that Brussels I should also apply to cases where the defendant is domiciled outside Europe. Second, it proposes to abolish exequatur. Third, the Commission proposes to make jurisdiction agreements more efficient in order to avoid ‘Italian Torpedoes’, and fourthly, it also proposes provisions enhancing the efficiency of arbitration agreements where a party is trying to avoid arbitration.