AUSTRIA Law and Practice Contributed by: Bettina Knoetzl, Patrizia Netal, Katrin Hanschitz and Natascha Tunkel, KNOETZL
Enforcing Judgments Neither Rendered Within the EU Nor Covered by the Lugano Convention Any decision by a court of a state that is outside the EU and not party to the Lugano Convention must be formally recognised and declared enforceable by an Austrian court in order for enforcement proceedings to be permissible in Austria. Proceedings The creditor must request the declaration of recogni - tion and enforceability from the Austrian court com - petent for enforcement proceedings (for more detail, see 2.2 Enforcement of Domestic Judgments ). In addition, the creditor is required to enclose certified copies of all relevant documents with such request. The creditor may combine the application for recogni - tion/declaration of enforceability with the application for enforcement. The court issues its decision without hearing the debt - or. An appeal against the decision may be filed within four weeks of service of the decision (or eight weeks if the debtor is domiciled outside Austria and this is the first opportunity to participate in the proceedings). Once the declaration of recognition and enforceability has become effective, the foreign judgment is con - sidered equal to domestic judgments. Accordingly, the ensuing enforcement proceedings are governed by the same laws applicable to the enforcement of domestic judgments (see 2.2 Enforcement of Domes- tic Judgments ). Debtor’s defences The declaration of enforceability may, inter alia, be refused if: • according to Austrian laws on jurisdiction, the for - eign court could not have had jurisdiction over the matter, under any circumstances; • the opposing party was not served with the docu - ment that initiated the foreign proceedings; • the opposing party could not properly participate in the foreign proceedings owing to procedural irregularities; or • the foreign judgment violates the fundamental prin - ciples of Austrian law (ordre public).
which it was rendered, but rather that such judgment is formally enforceable. Enforcing Uncontested EU Judgments According to Article 20 of Council Regulation (EC) 805/2004, “a judgment certified as a European Enforcement Order shall be enforced under the same conditions as a judgment handed down in the member state of enforcement”. A claim is considered uncon - tested if: • the debtor has expressly agreed to it by admis - sion or by means of a settlement that has been approved by a court or concluded before a court; • the debtor has never objected to it in the course of the court proceedings; • after having initially objected to the claim in the course of the court proceedings, the debtor has not appeared or been represented at the fur - ther court hearings, provided that such conduct amounts to a tacit admission of the claim or of the facts alleged by the creditor under the law of the member state; or • the debtor has expressly agreed to it in an authen - tic instrument. Proceedings The application for the enforcement of a European Enforcement Order must be accompanied by the fol - lowing documents: • a copy of the judgment that satisfies the conditions necessary to establish its authenticity; • a copy of the European Enforcement Order cer - tificate that satisfies the conditions necessary to establish its authenticity; and • where necessary, a transcription of the European Enforcement Order certificate or a translation thereof into the official language of the court of enforcement. Debtor’s defences The enforcement of a European Enforcement Order can be refused only if, upon application of the debtor, the court determines that the European Enforcement Order is irreconcilable with an earlier judgment ren - dered in any member state or in a third country.
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