New Books Network Colloquies on European Civil Procedure: A Conversation with Marco de Benito
Mar 28, 2026
Marco de Benito, Jean Monnet Chair in European Civil Procedure and editor of Colloquies on European Civil Procedure, explains why he used Socratic-style dialogues to explore the new Model European Rules. He talks about balancing insider and outsider perspectives, the aim of harmonization versus uniformity, and how the book can guide reforms and future research on procedural issues.
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Harmonization Seeks Best Practices Not Uniformity
- Harmonization seeks best practices rather than uniformity or majority rules.
- Marco de Benito highlights the ELI-UNIDROIT rules' 245 articles as a near-complete common civil procedure code created by searching for best solutions across traditions.
Book Built Through Iterative Dialogues During COVID
- Marco recounts shaping the book during COVID with 30+ authors through many draft rounds to create constructed dialogues.
- Some chapters underwent up to 12 revisions as contributors added published material, improvised responses, and Marco actively edited for flow.
Soft Law Institutions Drive Procedural Harmonization
- Soft law institutions fill the gap when states won't negotiate procedural convergence directly.
- Marco cites UNIDROIT, UNCITRAL and the Hague Conference as vehicles where scholars craft nonbinding but influential harmonizing texts like model rules.
