The present volume addresses judicial case management and issues of efficiency in civil litigation. Apart from France, the focus is on these issues in three comparatively small jurisdictions which are often ignored in the international legal debate: Scotland, Belgium and the Netherlands. In addition the ALI/Unidroit Principles of Transnational Civil Procedure and the Storme Report are considered, whereas the volume also contains a contribution on the history of case management in Europe from the end of the 19th century. The volume shows that effective judicial case management is likely to flourish in an environment where: (1) the rules of civil procedure do not prescribe a uniform procedural framework for each and every case but differentiate between different types of cases; (2) these rules leave the judge the necessary discretion to manage individual cases (preferably in close co-operation with the parties) and the caseload as a whole; (3) this discretion can only be exercised to promote certain well-defined goals, in particular efficiency, appropriate speed and moderate cost; (4) the parties and their lawyers have a duty and the necessary incentives to co-operate; (5) there are adequate sanctions in respect of parties and lawyers who refuse to co-operate; and (6) courts are provided with adequate resources in order to create an environment where judges and highly qualified court staff can manage cases within a organizational framework that meets contemporary needs and standards.
