ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Marco Torsello, Federica Serrantoni, Lucia Pontremoli and Gregorio Baldoli, ArbLit
Process of Enforcing a Non-EU Country Judgment Lugano Convention As with the Brussels I bis Regulation, the Lugano Con - vention also provides for the automatic recognition and direct enforcement in Italy of judgments rendered in another signatory country, and for specific and lim - ited grounds on which recognition can be refused. That said, some formalities must also be complied with under the Lugano Convention. Specifically, pur - suant to Article 33 (2) of the Lugano Convention, any interested party who raises the recognition of a judg - ment as the principal issue in a dispute may apply for a decision that the judgment be recognised. Pursuant to Article 53 of the Lugano Convention, the applications for recognition of a foreign judgment or for a declaration of enforceability must be presented before the Italian competent court of appeal, together with: • a copy of the judgment that satisfies the conditions necessary to establish its authenticity; and • the certificate referred to in Article 54 of the Lugano Convention, which is issued by the court or com - petent authority of a signatory state upon request of the interested party. Also in this case, the seised court merely verifies whether the formal criteria are met. It does not review Similarly, as mentioned in 3.3 Categories of Foreign Judgments Not Enforced (under Judgments Ren- dered in Non-EU Countries ), under the 2019 Hague Convention, a judgment given by a court of a con - tracting state will be recognised and enforced in Italy only if it has effect and is enforceable in the state of origin. Nonetheless, also in this case, certain formali - ties are needed. Specifically, pursuant to Article 12 of the 2019 Hague Convention, a party seeking rec - ognition or applying for enforcement must produce a complete and certified copy of the judgment, as well as any documents necessary to establish that the judgment has effect or is enforceable in the state of origin. the merits of the judgment. 2019 Hague Convention
Pursuant to Article 13 of the 2019 Hague Convention, the procedure for recognition, declaration of enforce - ability, or registration of enforcement is governed by Italian procedural law unless the 2019 Hague Conven - tion itself provides otherwise. Italian Private International Law Act As mentioned in 3.1 Legal Issues Concerning Enforcement of Foreign Judgments (under Non-EU Countries’ Judgments ), recognition in Italy of foreign judgments under the Italian Private International Law Act is automatic, provided that the requirements listed in Article 64 of the Italian Private International Law Act are met. Pursuant to Article 67 of the Italian Private Interna - tional Law Act, the procedure governing the recogni - tion and enforcement (as well as the opposition to the recognition) of non-EU countries’ judgments is that established by Italian Legislative Decree No 150/2011. The latter provides that the competent court is the court of appeal of the place where the judgment will be enforced and that the applicable procedural rules are those relating to the summary judgment ( procedi- mento semplificato di cognizione ), provided for by Article 281-decies of the CCP. 3.5 Costs and Time Taken to Enforce Foreign Judgments Enforcing a foreign judgment in Italy can be relative - ly straightforward or more complex, depending on where the judgment originates (EU versus non-EU), the subject matter, and whether the opposing party challenges the process. The main cost heads are as follows. • Court fees, which include: (a) filing fees ( contributo unificato ), which vary based on claim value; (b) registration tax; and (c) stamp duties and services. • Translation costs. • Legal fees.
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