A US Perspective on the ELI/<scp>Unidroit</scp> Model Rules of Civil Procedure

Abstract The European Law Institute (ELI) – International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (Unidroit) Model Rules of Civil Procedure represent the most ambitious effort thus far to harmonize common-law and civil-law approaches to this vital topic. This article compares the new Model Rules to the US approach to civil procedure, with an emphasis on the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. The two systems are remarkably close in some areas, such as the attitude toward judicial management of a case; differences persist in others, such as the recognition of a pre-commencement phase of litigation, the use of pre-trial discovery mechanisms, and the model for aggregate or collective litigation. Notwithstanding these differences, however, convergence has moved forward and is likely to continue to do so, with the help of the ELI and the American Law Institute, among many other significant institutions.