European payment order

The court(s) that will have jurisdiction to issue a European order for payment in England and Wales are the county court and the High Court of Justice.

The jurisdiction of the county courts is entirely statutory and covers almost the whole field of civil law. The general jurisdiction in civil law is mostly concurrent with that of the High Court, save that personal injury claims for less than £50,000 and money claims for less than £15,000 must be started in the county court. Further detail is to be found in the High Court and County Courts Jurisdiction Order 1991 (as amended). A number of statutes confer exclusive jurisdiction on the county courts - for example, virtually all cases under the Consumer Credit Act 1974, and most actions by mortgage lenders and landlords.

A claim can be issued in any county court in England and Wales. The Court Service website has the addresses of all the county courts and details of the High Court.

An application for a review under Article 20 in England and Wales must be made to the competent court which issued the EPO, in accordance with Part 23 of the Civil Procedure Rules.

The means of communication acceptable by courts in England and Wales for the purposes of commencing the European order for payment will be by post (due to the necessity to take a court fee to issue the process). Consideration is currently being given as to whether electronic submission of the claim form will be possible. However, subsequent documents including any statement of opposition will be allowed to be sent to the court by post, facsimile or by e-mail in accordance with Part 5.5 of the Civil Procedure Rules and Practice Directions which contains rules for filing and sending documents to court.

The official language acceptable pursuant to Article 21(2)(b) is English.