English Jurisdiction As Effective As Ever: A Response to the European Commission's “Notice to Stakeholders”

English Jurisdiction As Effective As Ever: A Response to the European Commission's “Notice to Stakeholders”

January 17, 2018, Covington Alert

This article “fact-checks” the “Notice to Stakeholders” published by the European Commission on November 21, 2017 (the “Notice”). The Notice has received widespread press attention, due to its stark warnings about the risks of choosing to litigate in the English Courts post-Brexit.

We consider whether the Notice is factually accurate (yes), whether it gives an interested commercial stakeholder the full story (no), and suggest some reasons why the Notice was released when it was (primarily, political motivations). We conclude that the Notice, which purports to be a useful guide for interested parties, is in fact misleadingly incomplete, presumably for political purposes.