Using IT to Provide Easier Access to Cross-Border Legal Procedures for Citizens and Legal Professionals - Implementation of a European Payment Order e-CODEX pilot

Integration in Europe has resulted in a steadily increasing number of legal procedures containing cross-border effects which require better cooperation between different national judicial systems and simpler and more efficient procedures for the users. Information and Communication technologies can help make cross-border judicial procedures more transparent, efficient and economic both in civil and criminal matters. e-CODEX is an important project of the EU in the domain of e-Justice that aims to provide to citizens, enterprises and legal professionals an easier access to justice in cross border procedures, as well as make cross-border collaboration of courts and authorities easier and more efficient. It develops the required infrastructure and the organizational, procedural and legal environment necessary and also conducts a number of real life cross-border pilots. One of the first such pilots to become operational is that of the European Payment Order (EPO), in which Greece also participates. In this paper we briefly present the services of cross-border access of citizens and legal professionals to legal means in Europe provided by e-CODEX and also the Greek e-CODEX pilot of European Payment Order, which has already launched operation in the framework of this major e-Justice project.