Details of an Irish initiative to establish a centralised EU-wide legal database are to be sent to all members of the European Parliament (MEPs) in a bid to win support for its introduction.
The project, which has received the backing of a number of institutions, including the International Bar Association, the European Lawyers' Union and the Irish Stock Exchange, would provide a legal infrastructure to support the widespread adoption of e-commerce in the EU. The European Convention Causebook and Judgment Registry database is intended to provide basic data on all cases instituted under the 1968 Brussels Convention.
It would impose an obligation on courts to communicate cases relating to the Brussels Convention to the central database.
Operating on a commercial basis, in a manner similar to the Companies Registration Office, the legal database would be administered wholly from the Republic, and would require a team of linguists and legal experts to support its functions. The idea has been copyrighted worldwide by its originator, Ms Twinkle Egan, a Dublin-based barrister.
The project was originally presented to the European Council of Ministers in 1992. However, following its rejection in 1996, Ms Egan filed a complaint with the European Ombudsman, alleging that the Council's decision-making process, and its failure to provide ongoing information, amounted to maladministration.
Last month the Ombudsman found against the allegations. Now Ms Egan is petitioning the European Parliament to secure a review of the Council's original decision. "We need a speedy means of converging the different legal systems throughout Europe to meet the needs of electronic commerce. Its administration from Ireland would support the concept of Ireland as an electronic commerce `hub'," Ms Egan says.
Ms Egan says she is confident the centralised database will eventually be approved because it will simplify procedures for accessing legal information within the EU. It would allow users to quickly access claim information in connection with product liability actions, where they can ascertain whether similar cases have been taken elsewhere in the EU. The service would also detail pre-judgment protective court orders, where a company might have its assets frozen under the Brussels Convention, before a court action is heard.
Further details about the EU Convention Causebook and Judgment Registry Database can be accessed at: www.cyberia.ie/tilde twinkle
