Dimensions of Evidence in European Civil Procedure

The main objective of the project is to explore whether a common core of European Law of Evidence exists, and if it does, to describe its content and note the most important points of discord among the national legal systems. The focus is not only to compare elements of the law between European Union (EU) Member States, but also to explore the actions of national courts to different situations (regarding the application of EU instruments or national law). By providing a clear picture of common core principles the project can serve as a starting point for further harmonisation or unification processes in this field. The second main objective of the project is to contribute to the development of mutual trust among the national courts inside the EU as well as among policymakers and courts from different EU Member States. Mutual trust is a basis for further development of the European Area of Justice and a prerequisite for further development of European Civil Procedure. Our assumption is that there can be no trust among EU Member State policymakers and national courts without a clear picture what courts do in matters of evidence and the discovery of facts. The third objective is to address the principal issues and problems in the application of communication technology, specifically taking evidence via videoconference and how this assists professionals with guidelines . The fourth objective is to transfer the EU's existing good practices in taking evidence to Croatia, who recently joined the European Union.