Verfahrenskoordination und Verjährungsunterbrechung im Europäischen Prozessrecht

In the context of the lis pendens rule (Art. 27 Brussels Regulation and Art. 21 Lugano Convention) the question of limitation of action has often been discussed . The lack of coordination between European Civil Procedure Law and the national Statutes on Limitation of Action can deprive the plaintiff of his lawful remedy in cross border litigation: where the action has to be brought within a specific time limit and the time limit expires before the bar of lis pendens has been lifted, the dismissal of the second set of proceedings according to Art. 27 Brussels Regulation will not only protract the resolution of the dispute, but deprive the plaintiff of his right to sue.
A discussion of the scope of Art. 27 Brussels Regulation and a comparison of the national Statutes on Limitation can show that the problem results directly from the combination of the European lis pendens rule and the possibility of non-recognition according to Art. 32 Brussels Regulation. If the European Civil Procedure Law prohibits parallel proceedings in the member states, it has to prevent the plaintiff who as a result of failure of the first set of proceedings brings a sucessive claim in another Member State, from being time-barred. Mary-Rose McGuire claims that the problem could easily be solved by an amendment of the Brussels Regulation.