Interaction and Competition of Legal Systems: a Study of Civil Procedure

Abstract

The long outlined process of globalization interferes not only with the economy, politics, and ecology but with law directly as well. Regarding globalization in the field of law, we use such terms as rapprochement, unification, and harmonization. That said, generally, the abovementioned terms are intended to denote the process of creating something shared, of a similar meaning. Conventionally, these processes can be observed in the framework of various integration associations. The opposite phenomenon is a competition of legal systems that provide for the establishment of the best conditions for social and economic development. The same is true for civil procedure as well. At the same time, in recent years, an interesting trend has emerged – competition within integration associations. This paper is the first attempt to show the aforementioned trend in the field of civil procedure. The authors note that this trend can be traced both in the EU (in the context of Brexit) and in the EAEU (in the context of establishing the Astana International Financial Centre and the AIFC Court). The paper analyzes the consequences of these actions in view of their impact on integration associations and a more detailed exploration of the legal status of the AIFC Court and its jurisdiction in this regard. Based on the research, the authors draw the conclusion that increased competition in the field of civil jurisdiction does not have to weaken integration associations, it can even enable further rapprochement.