Publication: Fast-Tracking the Resolution of Minor Disputes: Experience from EU Member States
Loading...
Published
2017-01
ISSN
Date
2017-02-21
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
The costs and long duration of court proceedings can be discouraging, and for the poor and micro and small enterprises (MSMEs) it can preclude access to justice entirely. According to the latest CEPEJ data, in 2014 disposition time of first instance civil and commercial litigious cases ranged from 97 days in Lithuania to 532 in Italy, with an overall EU average of 250 days.2 Costs (comprising both lawyer and court fees) can sometimes be greater than the value of the claim. Legislators around the world have long recognized that disputes concerning smaller claims may not require the same complex procedures and rules; instead, they can be resolved in a cheaper and more efficient manner. Although small claims procedure is not a new phenomenon and has existed for decades, it has only recently gained traction. Factors such as popular demand spur more and more countries into looking for new and faster ways to deal with smaller claims, as citizens are looking for simpler, ICT-enabled ways to resolve smaller disputes. This report provides a comparative analysis of small claims procedure in the 28 EU Member States, including lessons learned and good practices, to inform EU members and candidate countries looking to introduce or reform their small claims procedure. It considers a number of dimensions, namely: court fees, thresholds, institutional set-up, use of technology, the role of lawyers, lawyer fees, and avenues of appeal.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“Harley, Georgia; Said, Agnes. 2017. Fast-Tracking the Resolution of Minor Disputes: Experience from EU Member States. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/26100 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication Alternative Dispute Resolution - When It Works, When It Doesn't(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2005-09)Alternative dispute resolution encompasses arbitration, mediation, conciliation, and other methods-short of formal litigation-for resolving disputes. Alternative dispute resolution offers several advantages over a lawsuit. It is less adversarial and in some cases can be faster and less expensive. It can also reduce court workloads. For these reasons its use is being promoted by court reformers in many developing and transition economies.Publication Republic of Bulgaria : Alternative Dispute Resolution for Financial Services Options(Washington, DC, 2013-06)The objective of this technical note is to evaluate the existing legal, regulatory and institutional framework of financial Alternative dispute resolution body, for example an ombudsman (ADR) mechanisms in Bulgaria, and to present the authorities with options for reform and improvement. There is a need to further strengthen and reform the existing financial ADR framework in Bulgaria. Fortifying the design and structure of financial ADR mechanisms is an important step to increase currently low levels of consumer trust in financial services. In addition, the implementation of the recently approved European Union (EU) Directive on ADR will require a significant amount of restructuring and reorganization of the existing ADR mechanisms in Bulgaria in order to be compliant with the new required standards. An ADR will not be a success unless consumers can be confident that financial services providers will take part and will follow decisions in favor of the consumer. Bearing in mind the Bulgarian context and the limitations imposed by the Bulgarian constitution, it is recommended to opt for a compulsory and binding ADR structure, but with a possibility to appeal to court. Moreover, financial services providers should bear the first-line responsibility for resolving complaints and be subject to similar complaints handling rules and procedures. In order to be successful, the new arrangements for financial ADR need to command respect from financial services consumers, financial services providers and the authorities. Where the views of stakeholders currently diverge, some compromise will be necessary in order to create a coherent and workable system.Publication Serbia(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2015-02-09)This report aims at identifying the particular needs and constraints faced by the poorest women and men when accessing the judicial system. Similarly to the Judicial Functional Review,6 the scope of this report focuses primarily on the courts because they are the main vehicle for justice service delivery and the primary institutions of justice in Serbia. The scope includes all types of services and covers litigious and non-litigious aspects of civil, commercial, administrative, and criminal justice. The focus is on the actual implementation and day-to-day functioning of the sector institutions that deliver justice to people, rather than the law on the books . The scope includes other institutions in the sector to the extent that they enable or impede service delivery by the courts, including: the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), the High Judicial Council (HJC), the State Prosecutorial Council (SPC), the courts, the Public Prosecutor Offices (PPOs), the Judicial Academy, the Ombudsperson s Office, the police, prisons, and justice sector professional organizations (such as the Bar, notaries, bailiffs, and mediators). The focus of this report is on access to justice services, including relevant financial, informational, and geographic barriers to such access.Publication Arbitrating and Mediating Disputes : Benchmarking Arbitration and Mediation Regimes for Commercial Disputes Related to Foreign Direct Investment(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2013-10)An effective commercial arbitration regime matters for foreign investors. It gives parties the autonomy to create a dispute resolution system tailored to increasingly complex disputes. Foreign investors view arbitration as a way to mitigate risks by providing legal certainty on enforcement rights, due process, and access to justice. The Arbitrating and Mediating Disputes indicators assess the legal and institutional framework for commercial arbitration, mediation, and conciliation regimes in 100 economies. All surveyed economies recognize arbitration as a tool for resolving commercial disputes and only nine economies have not acceded to the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards. In the Arbitrating and Mediating Disputes indicators, High Income OECD and Eastern Europe and Central Asia are the regions that reformed their laws on alternative dispute resolution the most between 2011 and 2012. The data also show that, globally, arbitration proceedings take 326 days on average, while recognition and enforcement proceedings of foreign arbitral awards take 557 days on average. The Arbitration and Mediating Disputes indicators are significantly correlated with perception data on the importance of alternative dispute resolution, as well as other measures such as total foreign direct investment inflows and inflows per capita, the Doing Business 2013 Enforcing Contracts data, the World Bank Group's Governance Indicators, the World Economic Forum's Global Competitiveness Indicators, and the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency's World Investment and Political Risk data. The paper concludes by identifying several opportunities for improvement, such as greater flexibility for domestic arbitration regimes, faster arbitration proceedings, and better domestic court capabilities.Publication Settling Out of Court : How Effective is Alternative Dispute Resolution?(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2011-10)Alternative dispute resolution can help the justice system in a country function more efficiently. It often saves costs and time and increases user satisfaction. For cases that go back to court, however, the total cost and time may increase. Alternative dispute resolution can also have indirect benefits. It can increase the effectiveness of courts by reducing bottlenecks. And it can improve trust in the legal system, which may increase foreign investment.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Classroom Assessment to Support Foundational Literacy(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2025-03-21)This document focuses primarily on how classroom assessment activities can measure students’ literacy skills as they progress along a learning trajectory towards reading fluently and with comprehension by the end of primary school grades. The document addresses considerations regarding the design and implementation of early grade reading classroom assessment, provides examples of assessment activities from a variety of countries and contexts, and discusses the importance of incorporating classroom assessment practices into teacher training and professional development opportunities for teachers. The structure of the document is as follows. The first section presents definitions and addresses basic questions on classroom assessment. Section 2 covers the intersection between assessment and early grade reading by discussing how learning assessment can measure early grade reading skills following the reading learning trajectory. Section 3 compares some of the most common early grade literacy assessment tools with respect to the early grade reading skills and developmental phases. Section 4 of the document addresses teacher training considerations in developing, scoring, and using early grade reading assessment. Additional issues in assessing reading skills in the classroom and using assessment results to improve teaching and learning are reviewed in section 5. Throughout the document, country cases are presented to demonstrate how assessment activities can be implemented in the classroom in different contexts.Publication World Development Report 2011(World Bank, 2011)The 2011 World development report looks across disciplines and experiences drawn from around the world to offer some ideas and practical recommendations on how to move beyond conflict and fragility and secure development. The key messages are important for all countries-low, middle, and high income-as well as for regional and global institutions: first, institutional legitimacy is the key to stability. When state institutions do not adequately protect citizens, guard against corruption, or provide access to justice; when markets do not provide job opportunities; or when communities have lost social cohesion-the likelihood of violent conflict increases. Second, investing in citizen security, justice, and jobs is essential to reducing violence. But there are major structural gaps in our collective capabilities to support these areas. Third, confronting this challenge effectively means that institutions need to change. International agencies and partners from other countries must adapt procedures so they can respond with agility and speed, a longer-term perspective, and greater staying power. Fourth, need to adopt a layered approach. Some problems can be addressed at the country level, but others need to be addressed at a regional level, such as developing markets that integrate insecure areas and pooling resources for building capacity Fifth, in adopting these approaches, need to be aware that the global landscape is changing. Regional institutions and middle income countries are playing a larger role. This means should pay more attention to south-south and south-north exchanges, and to the recent transition experiences of middle income countries.Publication Doing Business 2014 : Understanding Regulations for Small and Medium-Size Enterprises(Washington, DC: World Bank Group, 2013-10-28)Eleventh in a series of annual reports comparing business regulation in 185 economies, Doing Business 2014 measures regulations affecting 11 areas of everyday business activity: Starting a business, Dealing with construction permits, Getting electricity, Registering property, Getting credit, Protecting investors, Paying taxes, Trading across borders, Enforcing contracts, Closing a business, Employing workers. The report updates all indicators as of June 1, 2013, ranks economies on their overall “ease of doing business”, and analyzes reforms to business regulation – identifying which economies are strengthening their business environment the most. The Doing Business reports illustrate how reforms in business regulations are being used to analyze economic outcomes for domestic entrepreneurs and for the wider economy. Doing Business is a flagship product by the World Bank and IFC that garners worldwide attention on regulatory barriers to entrepreneurship. More than 60 economies use the Doing Business indicators to shape reform agendas and monitor improvements on the ground. In addition, the Doing Business data has generated over 870 articles in peer-reviewed academic journals since its inception.Publication World Development Report 2006(Washington, DC, 2005)This year’s Word Development Report (WDR), the twenty-eighth, looks at the role of equity in the development process. It defines equity in terms of two basic principles. The first is equal opportunities: that a person’s chances in life should be determined by his or her talents and efforts, rather than by pre-determined circumstances such as race, gender, social or family background. The second principle is the avoidance of extreme deprivation in outcomes, particularly in health, education and consumption levels. This principle thus includes the objective of poverty reduction. The report’s main message is that, in the long run, the pursuit of equity and the pursuit of economic prosperity are complementary. In addition to detailed chapters exploring these and related issues, the Report contains selected data from the World Development Indicators 2005‹an appendix of economic and social data for over 200 countries. This Report offers practical insights for policymakers, executives, scholars, and all those with an interest in economic development.Publication Digital Africa(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2023-03-13)All African countries need better and more jobs for their growing populations. "Digital Africa: Technological Transformation for Jobs" shows that broader use of productivity-enhancing, digital technologies by enterprises and households is imperative to generate such jobs, including for lower-skilled people. At the same time, it can support not only countries’ short-term objective of postpandemic economic recovery but also their vision of economic transformation with more inclusive growth. These outcomes are not automatic, however. Mobile internet availability has increased throughout the continent in recent years, but Africa’s uptake gap is the highest in the world. Areas with at least 3G mobile internet service now cover 84 percent of Africa’s population, but only 22 percent uses such services. And the average African business lags in the use of smartphones and computers as well as more sophisticated digital technologies that catalyze further productivity gains. Two issues explain the usage gap: affordability of these new technologies and willingness to use them. For the 40 percent of Africans below the extreme poverty line, mobile data plans alone would cost one-third of their incomes—in addition to the price of access devices, apps, and electricity. Data plans for small- and medium-size businesses are also more expensive than in other regions. Moreover, shortcomings in the quality of internet services—and in the supply of attractive, skills-appropriate apps that promote entrepreneurship and raise earnings—dampen people’s willingness to use them. For those countries already using these technologies, the development payoffs are significant. New empirical studies for this report add to the rapidly growing evidence that mobile internet availability directly raises enterprise productivity, increases jobs, and reduces poverty throughout Africa. To realize these and other benefits more widely, Africa’s countries must implement complementary and mutually reinforcing policies to strengthen both consumers’ ability to pay and willingness to use digital technologies. These interventions must prioritize productive use to generate large numbers of inclusive jobs in a region poised to benefit from a massive, youthful workforce—one projected to become the world’s largest by the end of this century.