Oral Hearing Management Under the ESCP Regulation

The European Small Claims Procedure (ESCP) is designed as a written procedure, wherein the oral hearing is granted limited space. The reason for this stems from the fact that an oral hearing in cross-border litigation take significantly longer and its worth seems to be – notably in civil matters such as those that fall within the ESCP’s scope – inversely related to the value of the case (the smaller the value, the lesser the worth). This regime gives rise to several significant issues, concerning its consistency with the fundamental procedural principle of the "right to be heard” , the correlative margin of discretion the court may rely on in deciding whether a hearing shall be scheduled or not, and not least the role played by modern communication technologies in this respect. The author deals with such issues in their multiple features and connections, trying to thus offer proper answers to them. The author’s overall view is that the ESCP Regulation’s restrictive approach to oral hearing is reconcilable with the right to be heard and that the broad discretion conferred on the court in this respect is justified as well.