European Small Claims Procedure

What is a European Small Claims Procedure?

A European Small Claims Procedure is a judicial proceeding designed to streamline and speed up the handling of transnational disputes involving purchases relatively small amounts of money. It also reduces legal costs for litigation.

The European Small Claims Procedure is based on an EU Regulation which is applicable in all EU countries except for Denmark. The procedure covers claims up to EUR 5,000. What distinguishes the European Small Claims Procedure from traditional court litigation is that a judgment rendered by a Spanish court, for example, will be recognised and enforced in Sweden in the same manner as if it were a judgment rendered by a Swedish court.

This is how it works

Written legal procedure

The proceedings for a European Small Claims Procedure are usually in writing, and are conducted using standard forms. First, you need to fill in a small claims form and send it to a court with jurisdiction over the matter. There are instructions on how to fill in the form, so you do not necessarily need the help of a lawyer.

The filing form is available on the European e-Justice Portal

You should mention in the filing form the evidence you want to present in support of your claim and, if necessary, you should send supporting documents relating to the case.

List of national courts with jurisdiction on the European e-Justice Portal

Things to seriously consider before starting a small claims case

If you are considering initiating a Small Claims Procedure, it is essential that you name the right defendant. It is also advisable to consider the circumstances of the defendant. If the other party has no attachable assets, a legal proceeding will only cause unnecessary costs for you, as even a successful outcome in your favour is unlikely to be of much benefit to you.

Requirements for bringing the dispute to a European Small Claims Procedure

To be able to bring your dispute to a European Small Claims Procedure, the following criteria must be fulfilled:

• The dispute must be transnational. This means that to bring the case to court, one of the parties must be domiciled in another Member State.

• The dispute must concern a private law case, i.e. where the dispute is between a private person and a company.

• The value of the amount in dispute (excluding interest, legal fees, court costs and expenses outlaid) may not exceed EUR 5,000 at the time the request for a European Small Claims Procedure is filed.

Certain types of legal proceedings are completely excluded from the Regulation, such as bankruptcies and employment law disputes.

What are the costs involved?

The applicant for a European Small Claims Procedure must pay a court fee. The court fee may vary depending on the court to which the filing is sent. In Sweden, the filing fee is SEK 900.

Bear in mind that the court proceedings may also lead to other costs (such as lawyer’s fees or translation costs) for which you can claim reimbursement if you win the case. In general, the unsuccessful party is obligated to pay both its own costs and those of the other party.

Which country’s court will hear the case?

It is important that the correct court in the right country receives your application for a hearing in a European Small Claims Procedure. Often, the proper court for the dispute is referred to as the “competent court,” meaning the court for the place where the defendant is domiciled. Usually the court in the country where the company is based will hear the case. There are exceptions however, which mean that you as a consumer may instead be entitled to have the dispute heard in the country where you are habitually resident.

Start by reading the terms and conditions of the contract

You should start by checking whether the company’s contractual terms and conditions state that a particular court has jurisdiction to hear any dispute that may arise. Often, the contractual terms and conditions refer to that particular court as having “exclusive jurisdiction.”

If there is no court designated

If the contract lacks a clause stating which court has jurisdiction to hear a dispute, you may have different alternatives available to you depending on what the dispute is about. For contracts of carriage, such as air travel, there are special rules.

Disputes concerning contracts of carriage, such as flights

Unless there is a clause or provision designating a specific court to hear any disputes, you may have several options to choose from. You can choose between a court at the city of departure, your final destination as stated on your ticket, or where the airline is headquartered.

Disputes concerning the purchase of goods or services

If the contract does not provide for a specific court to hear the dispute, it may be possible under certain conditions for you to bring an action against the company in your local district court. An example of when this is possible is when the company targets its commercial activities to Sweden and it is not specified in the contract that a specific court has jurisdiction to hear the dispute.

Competent courts with jurisdiction can be found on the European e-Justice portal

Further information

You can find out more about European Small Claims procedures on the European Commission’s Your Europe website.

Further information about the European Small Claims Procedure is available on Your Europe