As we have previously reported, following the publication of the Heidelberg Report on the functioning of the Brussels Regulation, the European Commission (EC) adopted a report and Green Paper regarding certain proposed amendments to the Brussels Regulation (see Legal updates, Study on the Judgments Regulation published and Green paper on the application of the Brussels Regulation). The proposed amendments include the abolition of the "arbitration exception" in Article 1.2(d), as well as other provisions aimed at facilitating the circulation of judgments and avoiding parallel proceedings. The EC invited responses to the proposals, the closing date for which was 30 June 2009.

The responses were published on the EC's website and included contributions from the International Bar Association, the French Committee on Arbitration, the Financial Markets Law Committee, the City of London Law Society and the House of Lords EU Committee (see Legal updates, IBA responds to European Commission's Green Paper; French Committee on Arbitration comments on the European Commission's Green Paper; EC publishes responses to the Green Paper on the application of the Brussels Regulation; and Review of Brussels Regulation: responses from House of Lords EU Committee and Law Society).

It had been anticipated that a draft amended Regulation would be published in early 2010. However, the timetable has subsequently been revised and, according to the Civil Justice Unit (CJU), proposals for reform are not now expected to be made available until 2011 (see Legal update, Committee on Legal Affairs' working document on Brussels Regulation green paper).

We will continue to report on future developments. In the meantime, for more detailed discussion about how the proposed amendments may affect arbitration, see Article, The reform of the Brussels Regulation: a crossroads for arbitration in Europe.