This paper analyses EU Regulation 1259/2010 (coming into force on June 21,
2012), which represents the first case of enhanced cooperation in the field of judicial
cooperation in civil matters. It starts from the difficult reform process of EC Regulation
2201/2003 with particular reference to the 2006 proposal – strongly censured by many
Member States – and then investigates EU Regulation 1259/2010 provisions applying
to divorce and separation (inter alia, the choice of law and applicable law in its absence,
the application of the law of the forum, the public policy exception). The author identifies
lacks and problems of the new discipline – making a comparison with the new
proposals on matrimonial property regimes and on the property consequences of registered
partnerships – and underlines the necessity to reform EC Regulation 2201/2003 in
order to coordinate a too composite discipline.
