Abstract :

The European Union experiences a growing number of cross-border commercial disputes (between professionals or between a professional and a consumer). These litigations shall be resolved at the demand of the claimant, so s/he can enjoy his/her substantial rights. Hence, it is essential to guarantee access to justice, whether public or private, within this European area of justice. To this end, the EU has a shared competence to adopt rules facilitating access to justice (art. 67 §4 Treaty FEU). Considered as an objective and a fundamental right, access to justice shall be realized through judicial cooperation law of the Union. This analysis shall reveal its richness as well as its lacuna. Therefore, one must determine how the European area of justice shall reach this objective of access to justice to allow the settlement of cross-boarder commercial disputes.