Introduced in 2007, the European Small Claims Procedure has already reduced the average length of court proceedings from 2.5 years to 5 months. The amended version becomes more widely available (for claims of up to €5 000). The threshold rises to €5 000 from €2 000. This allows:
- more consumers and businesses to solve their cross-border problems;
- many more business-to-business disputes to be settled;
- citizens can use online procedures to avoid unnecessary travelling to courts;
- the new rules enhance the use of technology and will limit unnecessary travelling. In practice this means:
- kicking-off the procedure online;
- using video-conferencing for communication;
- limiting physical presence only to the cases when the court cannot make a decision based on written documents;
- accepting documents sent by email by the court.
These features will apply subject to availability of appropriate technical equipment in the tribunals.
With the new rules, the court fees, which can be very high in small claims cases and sometimes higher than the value of the claim, have to be proportionate to the value of the claim.
