Europeanisation of Private International Law
A modern feature of private international law in European countries is the Europeanization of the subject,which means the assimilation of Member States’ private international law rules,and the creation of a European “area of freedom,security and justice”.22
Before 1999,measures designed to secure the harmonization of conflict rules at EC level had taken the form of conventions,signed and ratified by the Member States.Conventions in this sphere could be concluded on the basis of what is now Article 293 of the EC Treaty (originally Article 220 of the EEC Treaty),which requires the Member States,so far as is necessary,to enter into negotiations with each other with a view to securing for the benefit of their nationals,inter alia,the simplification of formalities governing the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments of courts or tribunals and of arbitration awards.Conventions could also be based on a voluntary choice by the Member States to go beyond the requirements of that provision.
After the entry into force of the Treaty of Maastricht on European Union,such conventions could also be drawn up by the Council,and recommended to the Member States for adoption in accordance with their respective constitutional requirements,on the basis of Title VI (Article K) of that Treaty,which dealt with co-operation in the fields of justice and home affairs,including judicial co-operation in civil matters.
Since the entry into force of the Treaty of Amsterdam on May 1,1999,the harmonization of EU private international law has been effected mainly by means of EC regulations adopted by the Council,or jointly by the Council and the Parliament,under Title IV (Articles 61–69) of the EC Treaty.(https://www.daowen.com)
Thus,the unification of EU private international law in early stage was initially reflected in a form of international convention among EU member states,for instance,the 1980 Rome Convention on the Law Applicable to Contractual Obligations.After 1999,the legal basis for the Europeanization of private international law is the Treaty of Amsterdam,Articles 61 to 67,in terms of which the subject of judicial co-operation in civil matters became a matter of European Community law rather than one merely of inter-governmental cooperation.23 A transfer of legislative competences in the field of private international law from the Member States to the then Community is called communitarisation of private international law.
In recent years,the EU instruments are being adopted in different fields of private international law,among them the Regulation (EC) No 864/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 on the law applicable to non-contractual obligations (Rome II) and the Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 17 June 2008 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (Rome I),the later replacing the 1980 Rome Convention,and Council Regulation (EU) No 1259/2010 of 20 December 2010 implementing enhanced cooperation in the area of the law applicable to divorce and legal separation (Rome III).
Following the entry into force of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) on 1 December 2009,the relevant legal basis is provided in Article 81 (former Article 65(2)(c) of the EC Treaty) subjecting the provisions applicable in the Member States concerning conflict of laws and of jurisdiction to the ordinary legislative procedure.It is additionally provided that the EU competences in the area of freedom,security and justice are shared between the EU and the Member States (Article 4 of the TFEU),meaning that the EU and Member States are authorised to adopt binding acts in these fields.However,Member States may exercise their competence only in so far as the EU has not exercised,or has decided not to exercise or has ceased to exercise its competence.24