The intended scope of this handsomely-produced book encompasses the rules of jurisdiction, the obtaining of “conservatory measures”, and the enforcement of judgments, in 23 European and Mediterranean jurisdictions. The context in which this information was sought, and by reference to which it is organized, was that of shipping law disputes. It was collected by means of a questionnaire (shown at p. xxxv) sent to legal practitioners in the various jurisdictions. In the case of England, for example, the reporter is a Mr David Gardner, of Messrs Curtis Davis Garrard, a firm of solicitors with its address at Heathrow Airport: an imaginative-looking choice for a account of civil jurisdiction in shipping law disputes.

The information has to be distilled into an average page length of 12 per jurisdiction. This, given the enormous complexity of the systems of jurisdiction which co-exist in any European State, is an