Answer ... According to French private international law, the means of redress against a declaration of enforceability are appeal and third-party proceedings.
An appeal suspends execution of a district court decision in France, and of a declaration of enforceability.
Decisions in favour of an application for a declaration of enforceability may be appealed; according to Article 43(2) and Annex III of the old Brussels I Regulation, the court of appeal is competent to hear decisions concerning approval of the application.
For decisions rejecting an application for a declaration of enforceability, the presiding judge of the district court is competent (Article 509-7 of the Code of Civil Procedure). For legal proceedings before the district court, the parties must be represented by a lawyer (Article 751(1) of the Code of Civil Procedure).
During the timeframe specified for lodging an appeal against the declaration of enforceability, pursuant to Article 43(5) of the Brussels I Regulation and until the court has ruled on any such appeal, no measures of enforcement may be taken other than protective measures against the property of the party against which enforcement is sought (Article 47(3) of the Brussels I Regulation).
If an ordinary appeal against the judgment has been lodged in the foreign country, the competent court may suspend the proceedings according to Article 46(1) of the Brussels I Regulation.
If a suspension of the proceedings is not suitable, the judge will make enforcement conditional on the provision of security determined by him or her at his or her legal discretion, in order to reduce the risk of insolvency (Article 46(3) of the Brussels I Regulation).
In addition to the appeal against the decision in favour of a declaration of enforceability, the enforcement itself can be appealed by the party concerned. This appeal is lodged in accordance with French law (Articles 542 and following of the Civil Procedure Code).
Between EU member states, the new Brussels I Regulation no longer obliges a party that wishes to enforce a foreign judgment in France to obtain a judgment in France recognising or enforcing the foreign judgment. A judgment given in a member state that is enforceable in that member state shall be enforceable in other member states without any declaration of enforceability being required (see Article 39). An enforceable judgment shall carry with it by operation of law the power to proceed to any protective measures that exist under the law of the member state addressed (see Article 40).
The European Enforcement Order Regulation (Article 5) does not include the possibility to oppose the recognition of a European enforcement order. Nevertheless, Article 21(1) establishes the possibility of a refusal of enforcement if the judgment is irreconcilable with a prior judgment, and of suspension and limitation of enforcement. According to Article 23 of the European Enforcement Order Regulation, the enforcing court can limit the enforcement proceedings to protective measures, make enforcement conditional on the provision of security or suspend the enforcement proceedings.
With regard to the European Payment Order Regulation, the defendant must lodge its appeal with the court of origin by using the standard Form F set out in Annex IV of the regulation (Article 12(4)(b)) within 30 days of service of the order. Enforcement will be rejected according to Article 22(1) of the regulation if the judgment, certified as a European payment order, is irreconcilable with an earlier judgment given in any member state or in a third country.
The European Small Claims Procedure Regulation disposes of a particular legal protection: according to Article 18(1) of the regulation (“Minimum Standards for Review of Judgments”), a defendant which, without fault, is not capable of responding in due time to the prior action can obtain a review of the foreign judgment by the foreign court. The European Small Claims Procedure allows for enforcement without the provision of security.
In case of an appeal against the judgment, the competent court can make enforcement conditional on security, limit the enforcement procedure to protective measures or, under exceptional circumstances, suspend the enforcement proceedings.
