EU Law and Practice Contributed by: Nathalie Colin, Maria-Clara Van den Bossche, Kevin Xhebexhia and Florence Frühling, Freshfields LLP
For the recognition and enforcement of judgments, the following categories are particularly important. • Final judgment – this is the decision on the merits of the case. • Default judgment – conversely to a judgment ren - dered by adversarial hearings, a default judgment is issued if the defendant fails to appear at the hearing in the proceedings. In some jurisdictions, default judgments are deemed to be contradictory in specific circumstances and/or give rise to an additional means of redress known as opposition. • Interim measure judgments (such as injunctions or temporary restraining orders that are intended to preserve the status quo until the final judgment is issued) – these are decisions issued in anticipa - tion of or during ongoing proceedings (including provisional measures), without prejudgment of the decision on the merits. EU Particularities At the EU level, there are certain instruments that may be used to obtain orders facilitating enforcement, as follows. • The European Payment Order (Regulation (EU) No 1896/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 creating a European order for payment procedure) grants an enforce - able title. Its primary goal is to facilitate cross- border debt recovery by providing a uniform and efficient method for creditors to enforce claims without needing to navigate the various national legal systems. Concerning the application process, the creditor submits a standard application form to the competent courts, including details about the parties involved, the amount claimed and the basis for the claim. • The EAPO Regulation facilitates cross-border debt recovery in civil and commercial matters within the EU. It allows a creditor to freeze funds held in a debtor’s bank account(s) in a member state other than the member state where the creditor is domi - ciled or where the court is located (not applicable to Denmark). This instrument is issued by domestic courts and allows for the freezing of bank accounts within the EU. It can be used either as an interim relief by securing the enforcement of a yet-to-be
pronounced judgment or to enforce an already rendered judgment. • The European Enforcement Order for uncontested claims (Regulation (EC) No 805/2004 of the Euro - pean Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 creating a European Enforcement Order for uncontested claims) simplifies the cross-border recognition and enforcement of EU judgments, court settlements and authentic instruments without intermediate proceedings for claims that are no longer contested by the debtor. This regula - tion is applicable to judgments from all EU mem - ber states, except for Denmark. It abolishes the requirement for specific enforceability proceedings (exequatur) for judgments falling within the scope of the regulation, allowing for swift and efficient cross-border recognition and enforcement. 2.2 Enforcement of Domestic Judgments Enforcing a domestic judgment within the same domestic state involves using the mechanisms and procedures available within that jurisdiction. Please refer to the national enforcement options and pro - cedures set out in the other chapters of this Global Practice Guide. However, instruments at the EU level have led to cer - tain harmonisation in this field (eg, Directive 2004/48/ EC of 29 April 2004 on the enforcement of IP rights). 2.3 Costs and Time Taken to Enforce Domestic Judgments The costs and time required to enforce domestic judgments will significantly depend on the national jurisdiction in which the judgment is being enforced, primarily depending on the specific legal procedures and the court system in general. Please refer to the national enforcement options and procedures set out in the other chapters of this Global Practice Guide.
2.4 Post-Judgment Procedures for Determining Defendants’ Assets
Post-judgment procedures for determining defend - ants’ assets are mainly regulated at the national level. Please refer to the national enforcement options and procedures set out in the other chapters of this Global Practice Guide.
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