Judicial Network

Ulrika Beergrehn obtained a degree in law at Uppsala University in spring 1986. She worked subsequently at various ordinary courts, first as a trainee judge (notarie) and then as an assistant judge.

From 1998 to 2001, Ms Beergrehn was employed as a legal adviser in the Swedish Ministry of Justice, in the unit for family law and general prop- erty law, where she worked on various legislative matters. During the Swedish Presidency, Ms Beergrehn chaired the Council working party discussing the decision to establish a European Judicial Network in civil and commercial matters following a proposal from the European Commission.

Since autumn 2001, Ms Beergrehn has been a Judge of Appeal at the Svea Court of Appeal.

1. Introduction

Our private1 lives are governed by many different rules, for example concerning marriage, divorce, parental responsibility, contracts, purchase and hire. These rules are commonly known as private law, to differentiate them from what is known as public law, which could, simplifying slightly, be described as governing citizens' relationship to the State. Such provisions are a central element of the legal system of a country. Their content has usually developed over a long period. There is no uniform legal system for all countries or even for all Member States of the European Union, and the legal systems in different countries are not always compatible.

Nowadays we live in an internationalised world. People move freely across the globe, and it is no longer unusual to settle or work in a country other than the one where you are a citizen. The same applies to businesses, which are increasingly trading and doing business across national borders. Within the EU, exchanges of goods and services between Member States have likewise increased in recent years.

Increasingly often, questions are arising about what rules apply when people or companies from different countries have to make various types of agreement with one another. What rules apply when two people from different countries want to get married, and therefore to agree what should happen to their property? What is the position of a person who wants compensation for a crime of which he or she has been the victim during a holiday trip abroad? To which court should a company turn, to pursue a claim for payment for goods which have been delivered to a company in...

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