Cross-border legal procedures are increasingly common at EU level. To deal with these effectively, cooperation between the justice systems of Member States is indispensable. To assist the information flow necessary for this, an e-justice communication system based on transfer of data over the Internet has been created.

This is known as e-CODEX, and it has been launched with the involvement of fourteen Member States and Turkey, the Council of Bars and Law Societies of Europe (CCBE) and the Council of the Notariats of the European Union (CNUE). Hungary is taking part in the process as an active observer. Numerous EU regulations enable judicial cooperation within the EU in criminal and civil cases, but in practice citizens rarely make use of these. E-CODEX, however, makes possible the secure, user-friendly pursuit of cases online.

As part of a pilot programme, some procedures can be carried out electronically from the end of 2013. The focus will initially be on certain civil and criminal cases, but the scope will later be expanded in stages. An example of the use of the system is that a European citizen or business can pursue a claim of relatively low monetary value within the jurisdiction of another Member State. The electronic documentation needed for this is already available on the e-justice portal https://e-justice.europa.eu. Also available on this site is documentation for settling cross-border financial claims which are not subject to dispute.

The overall aim of the project is more effective cross-border cooperation in legal matters. Legal procedures will be more transparent and economical, and access to justice will be easier for citizens, businesses and lawyers.

(kormany.hu)