In accordance with the New Recast Regulation 1215/2012, any judgment obtained in one Member State will be automatically recognised and enforceable in any other Member State without there being a requirement to obtain a declaration of enforceability (exequatur) as was the case under EU Regulation 44/2001. This new procedure for enforcement and recognition of judgments takes place for legal proceedings instituted on or after the 10th of January 2015 or judgments given in proceedings institutes on or after the 10th of January 2015 and regulates jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments between EU Member States.
Therefore should an Applicant wish to recognise and enforce a Judgment in another Member State it will need to produce a copy of the judgment; the certificate issued as well as any translations that may be requested from the enforcement authority. Once this is obtained the Applicant should also serve the Certificate and the foreign judgment (if not previously served) on the judgment-debtor prior to the first enforcement measure, which should be completed in reasonable time. Once the judgment debtor is served with the above documents, it may apply for refusal of enforcement whereby then the competent court has discretion to limit enforcement to protective measures, make enforcement conditional on the provision of a security or suspend enforcement either wholly or in part. However the court shall exercise its discretion by considering the seriousness of the judgment-debtor's objections to the enforcement.
In light of the above, an Applicant may also obtain protective measures, whereby as soon as the judgment is enforceable in the state of origin, the competent authorities in the other Member State must proceed, if and when requested, to any protective measures that exist under their national law. Such protective measures shall be ordered without serving the Brussels I Certificate on the judgment debtor (Article 43(3) which means that the protective measure must be ordered ex-parte without any prior notification to the judgment debtor.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.