THE HISTORY OF CIVIL PROCEDURE IN EUROPE

Van Rhee C.H.R.; Odgers R.G.; Ragone A.P. · Revista Eletronica de Direito Processual (2026) · DOI: 10.12957/redp.2026.100370

Resumen

The draft common rules for Europe from the Storme Commission familiarized lawyers with the problems that must be overcome before any harmonization of civil procedure can be achieved. While these problems may need to be addressed pragmatically, I am firmly convinced that studying the history of procedural law can also be beneficial. After all, civil procedure in the various European jurisdictions is even more shaped by its history than the substantive civil law in force in these territories. In this contribution, I would like to consider the extent to which the study of the history of procedural law can be used to promote harmonization. I will analyze two possibilities: 1. Discovering the historical relationship between the different systems of procedural law in Europe in order to overcome apparent differences. 2. Studying previous attempts to create an efficient procedure, uncovering the reasons for the success or failure of past procedural reforms. This contribution demonstrates that the history of procedural law can be relevant for harmonizing or approximating civil procedural law in Europe. This is because all European civil procedural systems share commonalities, as they are based on the Romano-canonical procedure of the Middle Ages and later periods. It has been shown that the influence of Romano-canonical law was present even in common law procedure, although this influence was less profound than on the European continent. The issues that can be addressed from a historical perspective are numerous.

Instituciones: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú