INTRODUCTION

The IC2BE Regulations are integral to the EU's internally focused project to reform the private international law between its participating EU Member States. They offer improved civil justice mechanisms for those inside the EU who seek the cross-border remedies encompassed by each Regulation. In one sense, the internal focus of these Regulations prevents many typical third state issues from arising. None of the EU's so-called second-generation private international law Regulations considered by the IC²BE study apply in non-EU states; further, there are no ‘Lugano-esque’ arrangements concerning these Regulations and nor, so far as the author is aware, are there any plans for such extensions (e.g. to allow the EEA states party to the Lugano Convention 2007 the benefit of these intra-EU possibilities). The intra-EU application of the second-generation Regulations does however require qualification, as even within the EU the Regulations do not apply uniformly; the post-Maastricht position of Denmark means that none of these Regulations apply to it or within it; in addition, the European Account Preservation Order Regulation never applied in the UK while it was an EU Member State because the UK did not opt in to this provision (which hence will not be discussed further in this chapter).

There are thus even within the EU certain abstract third state issues arising from the inherently limited application of the Regulations to only participating EU Member States. While the UK was still a Member State, these third state issues mostly arose in the circumstance that a second-generation Regulation was used in participating EU Member States by or against a person who is resident or domiciled in a third state (or in a non-participating EU Member State) because the relevant Regulation permitted the ‘claim’ or procedure it concerns to proceed within its legal system and then to be ‘enforced’ in the legal system of another participating EU Member State which the claimant selected as his enforcement venue. These abstract intra-EU third state issues are however eclipsed by the varied issues arising from the UK's involvement in the Art. 50 TEU process commonly described as ‘Brexit’.