SPAIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Alfonso López-Ibor and Olivia López-Ibor, Lopez-Ibor Abogados
on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters. A judgment issued in a member state must be recog - nised in the other member states without any special procedure being required. If the parties, regardless of their domicile, have agreed that a court or the courts of a member state will have jurisdiction to settle any disputes that have arisen or that may arise in connection with a particular legal relationship, the court or those courts must have juris - diction, and this jurisdiction must be exclusive unless the parties have agreed otherwise. Non-EU Court Judgments For non-EU court judgments, local courts will apply Law 29/2015 of 30 July on international judicial co- operation regarding civil and commercial matters. To recognise and/or enforce a non-EU court judgment/ resolution in favour of a lessor, the lessor must bring exequatur proceedings. Any judgment/resolution issued by an EU or non-EU court will not be recognised in Spain in certain cir - cumstances such as if the recognition is manifestly contrary to Spanish public policy or if the judgment was issued in default of appearance or the judgment is irreconcilable with a judgment given in a dispute between the same parties in Spain, among others. Arbitral Award A foreign arbitral award (eg, a US award) would be recognised and enforced in Spain if it satisfies the requirements of the 1958 New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbi - tral Awards; ie, the judgment must not be contrary to Spanish public policy, the subject matter must be capable of being settled by arbitration under the laws of Spain, proper notice of the appointment of the arbitrator or of the arbitration proceedings must have been served upon the defendant, etc. According to Article 46 of the Spanish Arbitration Law, the procedure for recognition of a foreign arbitral award is the same as that established for foreign judg - ments by the Spanish Civil Procedure Law of 1881. The timing for enforcement may take several months
(three to nine months), depending on the backlog of work of the court of competent jurisdiction. The appli - cation has to be addressed to the high court of justice ( Tribunal Superior de Justicia ) of the region where the defendant is domiciled. The office of the public pros - ecution must give a written opinion on the applica - tion for recognition. If the high court of justice grants the recognition of the award, its enforcement will be carried out by the court of first instance where the defendant is domiciled. Aside from the above, the grounds for annulment of an award are very restricted under Spanish law. 2.6.7 Judgments in Foreign Currencies The judgment may be expressed in a foreign currency but for enforcement purposes it has to be converted into euros, with the conversion date being the date of the Spanish enforcement order. 2.6.8 Limitations on Lessors’ Actions Following Termination A Spanish court may find the default interest rate (or the way it is calculated) rather excessive taking into account limitations on usury. A Spanish court has the power to mitigate (or grant relief on) any clause in a contract which may be considered as being punitive. 2.6.9 Lessor’s Requirement to Pay Taxes/Fees The lessor does not need to pay taxes in connec - tion with the enforcement of the lease. The lessor only needs to pay lawyers’ fees, court agent fees, or reg - ister fees. 2.6.10 Mandatory Notice Periods There is no mandatory notice period under Spanish law. However, it is common practice to serve a notice of default using a notarial or burofax service before actu - ally sending the notice of termination. 2.6.11 Lessees’ Entitlement to Claim Immunity The lessee is not entitled to claim sovereign or any other immunity from legal action or proceedings in Spain. However, pursuant to Article 132 of the Air Nav - igation Law of 1960, the attachment of an aircraft of a Spanish airline may not interrupt the public service
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