Outcome of the 1st International Conference

As part of the EU project »Digi-Guard«, coordinated by the Faculty of Law of the University of Maribor, the conference »European Civil Procedure with an Emphasis on Digitalization of Court Proceedings« was held on May 19 and 20, 2023. 
At the conference, the first section, which addressed the electronic (cross-border) service of (extra)judicial documents, included papers by respected lecturers from a variety of European countries. The section was opened by Prof. Dr. Vesna Rijavec (Maribor), and succeeded by Prof. Dr. Geert van Calster (Leuven), who presented the latest trends in the field of European civil procedure. This was followed by Judge Sabina Valek Derganc from the European Commission, who presented the Commission's efforts in the field of digitalisation of justice, with an emphasis on civil proceedings. Afterward, Prof. Dr. Christian Wolf and Lissa Gerking (Hannover) discussed the impact of digitalisation on the lawyers’ profession. Prof.Dr. Eric Bylander and Prof. Dr. Marie Linton (Uppsala) analysed innovations in the field of service of documents and evidence through the research perspective of separation between judicial and extrajudicial cases. Former AG of the CJEU, Prof. Dr. Verica Trstenjak discussed the notion of human rights in the digital era. Slovenian judge at the General Court (EU) Dr. Damjan Kukovec presented a paper on the jurisdiction of the General Court, with an analysis of marginal cases. Prof. Dr. Bettina Nunner Krautgasser and Mag. Wolfgang Braza (Graz), concluded the section with a presentation that referred to the distinction between the methods of serving court documents.

The afternoon session was led by Prof. Dr. Tjaša Ivanc (Maribor) who also presented an introductory paper on the impact of new technologies on the evidentiary process. This was followed by Prof. Dr. Tomaž Keresteš (Maribor), who, together with Prof. Dr. Jose Caramelo Gomes (Porto) discussed the disruptive effects of AI on civil procedure. After a short coffee break, Bojan Muršec, Director of the Informatics Center at the Slovenian Supreme Court, gave a practical demonstration to the participants of the functioning of technologies that support the work of judges in the proceedings, including the e-Codex technology. Denis Baghrizabehi (Maribor) and Maria Dymitruk (Wroclaw) analyzed problems in the use of videoconferencing technology in civil court proceedings in Slovenia and Poland. The judge at the Lithuanian Court of Appeal, Vigintas Višinskis, presented the Lithuanian experience with the digitization of civil enforcement proceedings, together with Remigijus Jokubauskas. The section was concluded by Prof. Dr. Jona Israël (Maastricht), who discussed the concept of civil and economic cases in the recent practice of the Court of Justice of the EU.

The Saturday part of the conference took place in the form of a round table in Oprtalj (Croatia). Prof. Dr. Ivana Kunda (Rijeka) hosted an overview of the regulation of videoconferencing in Croatian law; Prof. Dr. Jerca Kramberger Škerl (Ljubljana) shed light on cost analysis of the use of technologies in court proceedings; prof. dr. Wendy Kennett (Cardiff) addressed the issue of (in)consistent legal definitions and terminology; Prof. Dr. Boštjan Kežmah (Maribor), provided an overview of the technical aspects of electronic service; and Doc. Dr. Katja Drnovšek (Maribor) dealt with illegally obtained evidence in the digital era.

The Digi-Guard project is co-financed by the European Union. It consists of a consortium of 8 partners from 7 Member States and is coordinated by the Faculty of Law of the University of Maribor. The main research problem addressed by the project is the legal regulation of electronic service and evidence and the use of videoconferencing technologies in civil proceedings.

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Directorate General Justice and Consumers (DG JUST). Neither the European Union nor DG JUST can be held responsible for them.