In the field of civil justice, pending procedures and proceedings initiated before the end of the transition period will continue under EU law. The e-Justice Portal, on the basis of a mutual agreement with the UK, will maintain the relevant information related to the United Kingdom until the end of 2024.

About the network

England and Wales
Content provided by:
European Judicial Network
European Judicial Network (in civil and commercial matters)

Contact Points

There is one contact point for each of the United Kingdom’s four legal jurisdictions. As each jurisdiction is separate there is no overlap in the work of these contact points who each have sole responsibility for the Network in their jurisdiction. Queries through the EJN should be directed to the relevant contact point for the jurisdiction concerned.

The contact point for England and Wales works within the Ministry of Justice in London. He has the assistance of one member of staff and can call on a number of other colleagues when dealing with Network business. The work of the Network is combined with other tasks.

The functioning of the EJN in England and Wales

There is no formal national network within England and Wales. Within the Ministry of Justice, however, a network of people who are experts in particular policy areas has been developed to whom the contact point can turn for answers to queries that are raised.

Contacts have also been developed in other relevant Ministries to whom the contact point can turn for advice or answers to queries which fall within that Ministry’s responsibilities. The contact point also works closely with others who are the extended members of the Network for England and Wales, including a number of judges with specialist skills in specific areas of law or with responsibility for international liaison work – in particular the judicial Head of International Family Law and the Senior Master who is the judge with responsibility for the Service and Taking of Evidence Regulations.

All extended members of the Network and the inter-Ministry informal network can be contacted by e-mail. Those within the Ministry of Justice and Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service have access to an intranet which can be used to disseminate Network information and judges can be contacted by e-mail too. Information about the Network has also been provided on the Judicial Intranet for England and Wales.

The contact point ensures that relevant policy, administrative or judicial experts are consulted before relevant meetings of the Network and the notes of meetings and relevant action points are disseminated as appropriate.

The contact point attends the International Family Law Committee which is composed of senior family judges, lawyers, academics and the relevant central authorities for England and Wales. This meets quarterly and, amongst other matters, shares information on recent EU legislation and the activities of the Network. He has also attended some meetings of the Lord Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Private International Law. This Committee is composed of senior judges and academics and advises the Ministry of Justice on EU proposals in the area of civil judicial cooperation.

The contact point also has regular contact with both the Bar Council and Law Society of England and Wales, the bodies representing respectively barristers and solicitors, as well as the UK representative of the ECC-Net who is responsible for all UK jurisdictions. Previous meetings have also been held with the UK SOLVIT contacts.

Providing information

There is no national website for the EJN in England and Wales. Information is provided through other existing sites including, as mentioned above, the Judicial Intranet. The contact point has worked with others, however, when providing different sources of information, including on the website of Her Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service guidance to citizens about how to initiate or respond to cross-border claims – in particular relating to the European Enforcement Order, European Order for Payment and European Small Claims Regulations. He has also worked with the ECC-Net in the UK which has produced a guide to the European Small Claims Regulation. Opportunities are taken to raise awareness of the EJN and the pages on the e-justice portal at appropriate meetings and conferences and in relevant publications.

Last update: 08/07/2019

The national language version of this page is maintained by the respective EJN contact point. The translations have been done by the European Commission service. Possible changes introduced in the original by the competent national authority may not be yet reflected in the translations. Neither the EJN nor the European Commission accept responsibility or liability whatsoever with regard to any information or data contained or referred to in this document. Please refer to the legal notice to see copyright rules for the Member State responsible for this page.