EU Law and Practice Contributed by: Nathalie Colin, Maria-Clara Van den Bossche, Kevin Xhebexhia and Florence Frühling, Freshfields LLP
the EU has changed (see 3.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Foreign Judgments ). Recognition and Enforceability of Judgments in General Depending on the specific regulation or treaty appli - cable, foreign judgments may be recognised and con - sidered enforceable automatically, meaning that there is immediate access to national means of enforce - ment in the jurisdiction where enforcement is sought. In other instances, recognition may not be automatic, and specific proceedings may need to be followed to obtain access to national means of enforcement. Such proceedings are typically referred to as exequa - tur proceedings – ie, proceedings geared at obtaining a declaration of enforceability by the competent court. Even under mutual recognition regimes, there are grounds upon which a member state can refuse to enforce a foreign judgment (see 3.6 Challenging Enforcement of Foreign Judgments ). 3.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Enforcement of judgments varies depending on the type of judgment and the legal instruments governing its recognition and enforcement. Generally, final judgments (decisions on the merits of the case) benefit from broader recognition and enforcement under international conventions and reg - ulations (the Brussels I Recast Regulation, the Lugano Convention, the Hague Choice of Court Convention, and the Hague Judgments Convention). The situation is more complex for judicial decisions ordering provisional measures. • Under the Brussels I Recast Regulation and the Lugano Convention, except in certain instances, provisional measures may also benefit from recog - nition and enforceability. • The Hague Choice of Court Convention and the Hague Judgments Convention do not govern interim measures of protection.
vention”), which applies to judgments rendered in the EU and Norway, Switzerland and Iceland; • the Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements (the “Hague Choice of Court Convention”), which only applies to judgments in international cases rendered by courts that have assumed jurisdiction based on an exclusive choice of court agreement concluded in civil or commer - cial matters; and • the Convention of 2 July 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters (the “Hague Judgments Con - vention”), which is complementary to the Hague Choice of Court Convention. As for EU regulations, the principal legal instrument governing the recognition and enforceability of for - eign judgments is Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (recast) (the “Brussels I Recast Regulation”). Other EU regulations are also of particular importance, such as: • Regulation (EC) No 805/2004 of the European Par - liament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 creating a European Enforcement Order for uncontested claims; • Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 creating a European Order for Payment Pro - cedure; • Regulation (EC) No 861/2007 of the European Par - liament and of the Council of 11 July 2007 estab - lishing a European Small Claims Procedure; • Regulation (EU) No 655/2014 of the European Par - liament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 estab - lishing a European Account Preservation Order procedure to facilitate cross-border debt recovery in civil and commercial matters; and • Regulation (EU) No 2015/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on Insolvency Proceedings (Recast). Post-Brexit Considerations Since Brexit, the legal framework for the recognition and enforcement of judgments between the UK and
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