Shaping Civil Litigation
Professor Anna Nylund has recently published the book Shaping Civil Litigation Using Procedural Agreements. The book was published by Eleven Publishing, and has been edited in collaboration with Antonio Cabral.
Main content
Procedural agreements hold the potential to customise and expedite civil proceedings effectively. However, their impact on access to justice, particularly for weaker litigants, and the potential erosion of the court’s role raise significant concerns. Despite the growing acceptance of procedural contracts, it is still unclear how courts should interpret and when they should enforce these agreements.
The book delves into the critical examination of choice-of-court, evidentiary, costs, appeal, and alternative dispute resolution agreements, offering a discussion on the boundaries between procedural and contract law. It interrogates the entanglements between procedural agreements, flexible procedural rules, case management, and the increasing complexity of litigated cases.
Additionally, it examines the interrelations between procedural contracts and current trends in civil litigation, including the obligation of European courts to safeguard consumers against unfair terms and the emergence of international commercial courts. Through 11 chapters written by civil procedure experts from across the globe, the book illuminates the dynamics of ‘contractualisation’, ‘flexibilisation’, ‘diversification’, and ‘arbitralisation’ of civil litigation.
