Litigation

1. Describe the general organisation of the court system for civil litigation.
2. Give an overview of basic procedural principles that govern civil litigation in your jurisdiction.
3. Describe the general organisation of the legal profession.
4. Give a brief overview of the political and social background as it relates to civil litigation.

5. What are the sources of law and rules governing international jurisdiction in civil matters?
6. What are the criteria for determining the jurisdiction and venue of the competent court for a civil matter?
7. Does your jurisdiction commonly attract disputes that have a nexus with other jurisdictions?
8. How will a court treat a request to hear a dispute that is already pending before another forum?
9. How will the courts treat a dispute that is, or could be, subject to an arbitration clause or an agreement to arbitrate, including in interim proceedings?
10. May courts in your country review arbitral awards on jurisdiction?
11. Are anti-suit injunctions available?
12. Which entities are immune from being sued in your jurisdiction? In what circumstances? In what circumstances can creditors enforce a court judgment or arbitral award against a sovereign or a state entity?

13. How are proceedings commenced? To what extent will a court actively lead the proceedings and to what extent will the court rely on the parties to further the proceedings?
14. What are the requirements for filing a claim? What is the pleading standard?
15. What are the requirements for answering claims? What is the pleading standard?
16. What are the rules regarding further briefs and submissions?
17. To what degree are civil proceedings made public?

18. Will a court render (interim) assessments about any factual or legal issues in dispute? What role and approach do courts typically take regarding settlement? Are there mandatory settlement conferences between the parties at the outset of or during the litigation?
19. Is referral to mediation or another form of ADR an option, or even mandatory, before or during the litigation?

22. What types of decisions (other than interim relief) may a court render in civil matters?
23. At what stage of the proceedings may a court render a decision? Are motions to dismiss and summary judgment available?
24. Under which circumstances will a default judgment be rendered?
25. How long does it typically take a court of first instance to render a decision?

27. Describe the rules of fact-finding in your jurisdiction.
28. Will a court take or initiate the taking of evidence or will it rely on the parties to request the taking of evidence and to present it?
29. Is an opponent obliged to produce evidence that is harmful to it in the proceedings? Is there a document disclosure procedure in place? What are the consequences if evidence is not produced by a party?
30. Please describe the key characteristics of witness evidence in your jurisdiction. Is witness preparation allowed?
31. Who appoints expert witnesses? What is the role of experts?
32. Can parties to proceedings (or a party's directors and officers in the case of a legal person) act as witnesses? Can the court draw negative inferences from a party's failure to testify or act as a witness?
33. How is foreign law or foreign-language documentation introduced into the proceedings and considered by the courts?
34. What standard of proof applies in civil litigation? Are there different standards for different issues?

35. What are the possibilities to appeal a judicial decision? How many levels of appeal are there?
36. What aspects of a lower court's decisions will an appeals court review and by what standards?
37. How long does it usually take to obtain an appellate decision?

38. In which conditions does your domestic arbitration law apply? Does it apply equally to purely domestic and international arbitrations, and to commercial and investor-state arbitrations?
39. Give an overview of instances in which state courts come into play in domestic and international arbitration proceedings.
40. Describe the rules governing recognition and enforcement of arbitral awards in your jurisdiction. To what extent do domestic courts review arbitral awards on the substance?

45. What legal effects does a judgment have?
46. What are the procedures and options for enforcing a domestic judgment?
47. Under what circumstances will a foreign judgment be enforced in your jurisdiction?

48. Will the successful party's costs be borne by the opponent?
49. May a party apply for legal aid to finance court proceedings? What other options are available for parties who may not be able to afford litigation?
50. Are contingency fee arrangements permissible? Are they commonly used?
51. Is third-party funding allowed in your jurisdiction?
52. Are there fee scales lawyers must follow? Are there upper or lower limits for fees charged by lawyers in your jurisdiction?

Select specific jurisdictions to filter on.