8.5 Recommendation No. R (84) 5

(Adopted by the Committee of Ministers on 28 February 1984 at the 367th meeting of the Ministers' Deputies)

The Committee of Ministers, under the terms of Article 15.b of the Statute of the Council of Europe,

Whereas the right to justice guaranteed by Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights is an essential feature of any democratic society;

Whereas the implementation of the measures and principles laid down in Committee of Ministers Resolutions (76)5 and (78)8 on legal aid and Recommendation No. R(81)7 on measures facilitating access to justice would make it easier for citizens to exercise their right to justice;

Whereas, however, some rules of civil procedure used in member states may prove to be an obstacle in obtaining effective justice because, first, they may no longer meet the needs of modern society and, secondly, they may sometimes be abused or manipulated to cause delay;

Whereas civil procedure should be simplified and made more flexible and expeditious, while at the same time maintaining the guarantees provided for litigants by the traditional rules of procedure and maintaining the high level of justice required in a democratic society;

Whereas in order to attain these objectives, it is necessary to make available to the parties simplified and more rapid forms of proceedings and to protect them against abusive or delaying tactics, particularly by giving powers to the court to direct the proceedings more efficiently;

Taking into account the discussions held and the resolutions adopted by the European Ministers of Justice at their 12th Conference, held in May 1980 in Luxembourg.

Recommends that the governments of member states adopt or reinforce, as the case may be, all measures which they consider necessary to improve civil procedure, being guided by the principles set out in the appendix to this Recommendation.