Introduction

The Brussels Convention was adopted on September 27, 1968. It entered into force in 1973 after ratification by six countries of the EEC. Since the beginning of its drafting the Convention was intended as a legal instrument that fulfils two basic functions in international processes of civil cases. It governs both the national courts’ jurisdiction in proceedings involving an international element, and lays down the conditions for recognition and enforcement of judicial authorities of other Member States. Recognising the relation between these categories of cases to a large extent contributed to equal treatment of parties. It also promoted the unification of the rules of civil procedure due to the necessity of recognition of judgements handed down in cases handled by the same or different procedural rules. This caused the rules of conduct to resemble each other. The success of the Convention consisted of rapprochement and unification of rules of civil procedure in force in six Member States of the EEC. These concepts have gained acceptance not only in the Member States of the European Economic Community, but also in the countries of the European Free Trade Association – EFTA, which are not members of the EEC. Article 63 of the Brussels Convention obliges Member States to the EEC, the European Communities, the European Community to accept its provisions. Its scope is limited to the Member States that are members of one of these international organizations in Europe, the predecessor of the European Union.