Die Kompetenzen der Europäischen Gemeinschaft im Internationalen Privatrecht

Heike Dohrn analyzes the competences of the European Community in private international law. In her opinion the new articles 61 and 65, introduced by the Treaty of Amsterdam and slightly modified by the Treaty of Nice, give the European Community the power to establish uniform rules in all areas of private international law. In spite of its ambiguous wording and systematic inadequacy, the new competence is an expression of a further step by the European Union toward more integration. The new objective of creating an area of freedom, security and justice focuses on the individual and the protection of his/her rights. The standardization of private international law is an important part of this aim, preventing as it does forum shopping and creating legal security in cross-border private relations.