Editor's note, 03/08/2007: The
Rome II Regulation (10-page / 95KB PDF) is now
published.
The European Parliament and the Council of Ministers have been
in dispute since 2003 over rules that would govern what court
should hear disputes where no contract is in place. Typical
disputes are traffic accidents, product liability, environmental
damage and defamation.
Privacy and defamation have been the focus of disputes between
the bodies. British MEP Diana Wallis proposed that the rules,
called the Rome II Regulations, deal with privacy and defamation
law, but while the Parliament backed her plan the Council of
Ministers opposed it. The Regulations need the approval of both
bodies in order to come into force.
Wallis wanted the Regulations to stipulate that defamation cases
should be heard in the country of publication, not the place where
the subject of the case lived. The Council had opposed any
inclusion of privacy and defamation in the Regulations at all.
The two bodies have now reached an agreement on how to proceed
with the Regulations but defamation has been sidelined as an issue.
The issue has been excluded from the agreement altogether but will
form part of a "review" to be conducted at a later date.
The European Commission has been asked to produce a study on the
defamation issue by the end of 2008.
"At second reading, MEPs had approved an amendment to regulate
the violation of privacy by print or audiovisual media," said a
European Parliament statement. "According to that text, the law
applicable in case of defamation by media would have been the one
of the country to which the publication or broadcasting service is
principally directed or, if this is not apparent, the country in
which editorial control is exercised. However, national governments
strongly opposed the Parliament’s position and the Conciliation
Committee agreed to leave this matter to be discussed in the future
under the review clause."
Rome II is not meant to harmonise laws across member states, but
it is meant to ensure that decisions on which court to fight in are
made on a consistent basis so that 'forum shopping' for the most
advantageous legal regime is prevented.
"I am glad that the two legislative bodies have at last agreed
on this instrument, which, by its very nature, potentially concerns
all the citizens and firms of the Union", said Franco Frattini,
European Commissioner for justice and home affairs. "This is a
fundamental instrument both for the completion of the European area
of justice and for the proper functioning of the internal
market.
"It is unacceptable that, as regards compensation for damage
caused to persons and property, the settlement of a dispute varies
considerably depending on which court it is referred to," said
Frattini.
The compromise text was hammered out at a special Conciliatory
Committee meeting, which featured equal numbers of representatives
of the Parliament and the Council. The Regulations will now be
voted on by the two bodies and can only come into force once passed
by both.
Unlike Directives, EU Regulations do not have to be made law in
member states before they apply. If passed, the Rome II Regulations
will be applicable in courts across Europe from the beginning of
2009.
