This chapter looks at how the fair trial guarantees under EU law are implemented and scrutinised in civil matters. It argues that the normative and institutional framework for the implementation of these guarantees in the field of civil judicial cooperation is structurally deficient insofar as their application and assessment by domestic courts remain largely exempt from EU oversight. This deficiency is attributed to the limited scope of CJEU jurisdiction over fundamental rights. It is nevertheless suggested that recourse to Article 19(1)(2) TEU by the CJEU as a benchmark for judicial organisation may give the Court a tighter grip and enhance the quality of civil justice across the EU.

This chapter assesses whether the EU legislators and judiciary ensure a right balance between two fundamental procedural rights – the right of access to the court and the right of defence. It describes the multiple sources of protection of the right to a fair trial in the EU and how they interrelate with each other. The main part of the analysis focuses on secondary law and case law, and especially on one of the by-products of the balancing of rights and interests by the CJEU – an obligation on the defendant to use all the remedies in the state of origin. The chapter also considers the important question of whether it is necessary or desirable to introduce similar EU-wide standards in civil cases. It critically assesses the European Parliament’s 2017 recommendations on a directive establishing common minimum standards of civil procedure in the EU.