STEP4CLUE - Boosting knowledge and application of European legislation

The European Judicial Network in civil and commercial matters (EJN-civil) was established in 2001 with the aim of strengthening cooperation between the Member States of the European Union (EU) and providing practical assistance to legal professionals to properly apply EU legislation. All Member States with the exception of Denmark participate in the network and designate a national contact point.

In France, the national contact point is based within the civil affairs office (Direction des affaires civiles et du sceau) of the Ministry of Justice. Its role is to facilitate exchanges between the French network, the national networks of other Member States, and the European Commission.

Judges, court clerks, barristers (including those who plead before France’s Council of State and Court of Cassation), judicial officers, solicitors and notaries are now represented within the French network through national and local representatives. A list of these contact persons is available on the EJN-civil web page on the Ministry of Justice website.

The development of a European judicial area and the growth of free movement between the EU Member States have led to a proliferation of complex family, civil and commercial situations involving links with several countries.

As a result, an increasing number of legal professionals are faced with the application of rules of private international law and EU law in their day-to-day work.

Given the technical nature of these subjects, projects aimed at deepening knowledge about EU legislation have been developed. Their objectives are to:

• improve the implementation of EU law and judicial cooperation mechanisms by French legal practitioners;
• raise the profile of EJN-civil and the solutions it can offer practitioners when dealing with cross-border cases.

As part of the STEP4CLUE project, training and profile-raising activities are being rolled out for professionals in the legal and judicial sectors.

Two training webinars on family law will be organised in 2026 and 2027, targeting French judges, court clerks, barristers, judicial officers, solicitors and notaries. In view of the increasing demand for training, this format enables practitioners from across the country to access the webinars. The protection of minors, divorce and matrimonial property regimes, maintenance obligations, and the recognition and enforcement of such obligations will be covered.

There is also a system of “law caravans” which will be renewed in the Amiens, Bordeaux, Poitiers, Pontoise and Valence jurisdictions. These will enable a delegation of EJN-civil experts to visit each of the five jurisdictions to engage with local practitioners. The aim is to introduce the latter to EJN-civil and the solutions it can offer, as well as to identify the difficulties encountered in cross-border civil and commercial cases. In 2027, a one-day tailor-made seminar will be organised in each of the jurisdictions, based on the training needs identified during the visits.

The “law caravans” are an effective way of strengthening the network’s territorial reach and raising its profile among local practitioners. At the same time, they enable the national contact point to identify any potential difficulties in applying European regulations at the local level.

The STEP4CLUE project also enables EJN-civil to strengthen bilateral cooperation with France’s neighbouring countries, especially Belgium and Italy.

Two cross-border seminars will be organised, with three objectives:

• enable practitioners from both countries to meet and exchange best practices over the course of a day;
• train participants on how to apply European law and judicial cooperation instruments through practical case studies;
• help identify solutions and contacts when dealing with cross-border cases.

The transborder approach used in these seminars, organised in the French jurisdictions, will enable professionals from France and the partner country to better understand the European legal mechanisms to be implemented.

A new development of the STEP4CLUE project is that it will start targeting future legal practitioners. These are persons undergoing initial training for one of the professions included the network (judges, court clerks, solicitors and barristers, judicial officers and notaries).

An online knowledge test scheduled for early 2027 will enable them to familiarise themselves with EJN-civil and the tools for mutual legal assistance in civil and commercial matters.

The goal is to make the network known by practitioners as early as possible in their careers and to establish a European approach to handling cross-border cases.