AUSTRIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Bettina Knoetzl, Patrizia Netal, Katrin Hanschitz and Natascha Tunkel, KNOETZL
Civil and Commercial Matters (“Brussels I Recast”) provides uniform laws for the recognition and enforce - ment of judgments. Brussels I Recast has been applicable since January 2015 and has simplified the enforcement of judgments within the EU, which now only requires the filing of a copy of the judgment and a standard form certificate. In parallel, the Lugano Convention – which contains a very similar set of rules – continues to apply between Austria and Iceland, Norway and Switzerland. Further EU regulations governing specific enforce - ment issues include: • Regulation (EC) No 805/2004 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004, creating a European Enforcement Order for Uncon - tested Claims; • Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006, creating a European Order for Payment Procedure; • 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 (EC) No 2019/1111 of the Council of 25 June 2019 concerning jurisdiction and the recogni - tion and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and matters of parental responsibility and international child abduction, which replaces Council Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003; • Regulation (EC) No 4/2009 of the Council of 18 December 2008 on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and co-operation in matters relating to maintenance obligations; • Regulation (EU) No 2016/1104 of the Council of 24 June 2016, implementing enhanced co-operation in the area of jurisdiction, applicable law, and the recognition and enforcement of decisions in mat - ters of the property consequences of registered partnerships; and • Regulation (EU) No 2015/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 20 May 2015 on Insolvency Proceedings.
Where Brussels I Recast and the Lugano Convention do not apply, multilateral and bilateral treaties have priority over the subsidiary provisions of the Austrian Enforcement Act. The following multilateral treaties to which Austria is a party (exemplary list) contain specific rules on enforcement or provisions relevant to enforcement proceedings. • The Hague Convention of 2 July 2019 on the Rec - ognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters, which entered into force on 1 September 2023 and is binding on Austria. The Convention gained particular practical significance when the United Kingdom ratified it on 27 June 2024, with entry into force on 1 July 2025. As a result, judgments rendered by UK courts are eligible for recognition and enforcement in Austria under this multilateral framework, supplement - ing the bilateral treaty of 1961 that had regained relevance following Brexit. Within the EU, Brussels I Recast continues to apply as the primary instru - ment. • The Hague Convention of 1 March 1954 on Civil Procedure and the Convention of 5 October 1961 Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents. • The Hague Convention of 15 November 1965 on the Service Abroad of Judicial and Extrajudicial Documents in Civil or Commercial Matters. • Various international transportation treaties, includ - ing: (a) the Convention concerning International Car - riage by Rail ( Convention relative aux transports internationaux ferroviaires , or COTIF); (b) the International Convention concerning the Carriage of Passengers and Luggage by Rail ( Convention internationale concernant le trans- port des voyageurs et des bagages par chemin de fer , or CIV); (c) the International Convention concerning the Carriage of Goods by Rail ( Convention interna- tionale concernant le transport des marchan- dises par chemins de fer , or CIM); (d) the Convention on the Contract for the Interna - tional Carriage of Goods by Road ( Convention relative au contrat de transport international de
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