Impact of the ELI/UNIDROIT European Model Rules for Civil Procedure on National Law – the Case of Norway

Abstract

This article offers a first analysis of the potential impact of the new ELI/UNIDROIT European Model Rules for Civil Procedure (ERCP) at the national level. Taking one of the Nordic/Scandinavian countries as an example, the article suggests that the ERCP may come to influence Norwegian civil procedure in three different ways, by: (i) influencing the interpretation and application of the existing national law; (ii) influencing future legal reforms; and (iii) exercising influence via the law of the European Union. In general, the openness and pragmatism of the Nordic/Scandinavian legal culture is likely to enhance the ERCPʼs impact. Nonetheless, the extent of the impact in concrete cases will depend on the perceived fit of the ERCP to the existing Norwegian Code on Civil Procedure and its underlying aims and values.

Keywords

• ELI/UNIDROIT European Model Rules for Civil Procedure
• Scandinavian legal culture
• Norwegian civil procedure
• European Union
• European Economic Area
• soft law