Civil Litigation in Twentieth Century Europe

Abstract The present article adresses one of the many topics on which Raoul van Caenegem has focused during his long career: the history of civil procedure. It concentrates on the twentieth century and offers a comparative perspective. The year 1898, in which the influential Austrian Zivilprozessordnung ( ?ZPO ) of the 1st of August 1895 took effect, forms the starting point of the article. This Code inaugurated a new era in civil procedure since it introduced a judge with extensive case management powers. The final part of the article discusses the English Civil Procedure Rules , which came into force in 1999. In 1999, even the English judge, who until that time had acted as a mere 'umpire', acquired extensive case management powers. Case management by the judge is now a common European phenomenon.