«The Minister of Justice, Alberto Costa, in representation of the European Community, will sign the new Lugano Convention (which encompasses the European Community plus Iceland, Norway Switzerland and Denmark) on Tuesday, 30 October, in Lugano/Switzerland. This convention pertains to the recognition and enforcement of decisions in civil and commercial matters.

The new Convention establishes common rules regarding the determination of the court with jurisdiction in international lawsuits, as well as to the recognition and enforcement of judicial decisions in civil and commercial matters, thus contributing to a deepening of a European judicial area based on the principle of circulation of judicial decisions.

The most important alterations introduced by the new Lugano Convention are in the area of the jurisdiction of the courts and, especially, jurisdiction in matters related to contracts made by consumers. In this way, it becomes possible to obtain the recognition and enforcement of a judicial decision pronounced in a court from a member State of the European Union in Switzerland, Norway and Iceland and vice-versa, when it concerns civil and commercial matters. The same rules shall be applied concerning the jurisdiction of the courts, meaning that the court with jurisdiction will always be the same regardless of the State - from the 30 States that will apply the new Convention - where the matter is placed.

Thus, it will be possible to guarantee greater efficiency and speed in the area of trans-border lawsuits all over Europe.»

Press office from the Ministry of Justice