The UK has opted in to a number of civil justice instruments that support the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

These allow for judicial cooperation in civil matters which have cross-border implications and include mutual recognition and enforcement of civil and commercial judgements across member states, and rules governing cross-border jurisdiction disputes.

The Law Society has said it agrees with the UK government that these issues should form an important part of the withdrawal negotiations and has welcomed the government’s position that it will ‘seek to agree new close and comprehensive arrangements for civil judicial cooperation with the EU’.

Michael Clancy, director of law reform at the Law Society of Scotland, said: “Citizens and businesses in the UK and across the EU currently rely on EU civil justice laws to deal with cross-border contractual and business disputes, divorce and family law matters, and consumer disputes.

“They must be able to access an appropriate route to resolve disputes and it will be crucial to have agreement prior to leaving the EU to allow cooperation between different EU states on the way courts deal with cross-border cases, to prevent additional cost, delay and distress for people.

“Cross-border trade will continue after Brexit so it will be essential to ensure that consumers can still have confidence, particularly if they are buying online, that they can seek redress if needbe when buying from sellers in other member states.

“Similarly there will need to be clear and workable rules for businesses involved in cross-border trade to resolve any disputes. This would be particularly important for small businesses as they, like consumers, will have limited resources but should be able to take action in the event of something going wrong.”