ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Marco Torsello, Federica Serrantoni, Lucia Pontremoli and Gregorio Baldoli, ArbLit
3.6 Challenging Enforcement of Foreign Judgments The conditions under which recognition and enforce - ment of a foreign judgment may be refused, as well as the procedure applicable in the event of an appeal from a decision on recognition or enforceability, vary depending on whether the foreign judgment was ren - dered in an EU member state or in a non-EU country. Challenge of EU Member States’ Judgments Under the Brussels I bis Regulation As mentioned in 3.3 Categories of Foreign Judg- ments Not Enforced (under Judgments Not Eligible for Recognition and Enforcement Under the Brus- sels I bis Regulation ), the conditions under which recognition and enforcement of a foreign judgment may be refused are listed in Articles 45 and 46 of the Brussels I bis Regulation. Pursuant to Article 47 of the Brussels I bis Regula - tion, the application for refusal of enforcement must be submitted to the competent Italian court of first instance. The applicant must provide the court with a copy of the judgment and, where necessary, a trans - lation thereof. In so far as it is not covered by the Brussels I bis Regulation, the procedure for refusal of enforcement is governed by Italian law – namely, by the provisions regulating the summary judgment ( procedimento semplificato di cognizione ) (ie, Article 281-decies of the CCP). Both the decision on the application for refusal of enforcement and the decision declaring that no grounds for refusal exist (Article 36 of the Brussels I bis Regulation) may be appealed by either party. The appeal is to be lodged with the competent Ital - ian court of appeal. The decision of the latter may be contested by an appeal before the Italian Corte di Cassazione (Court of Cassation) (Articles 49 and 50 of the Brussels I bis Regulation). Challenge of Non-EU Countries’ Judgments Under the Lugano Convention Pursuant to Article 43 of the Lugano Convention, the decision on the application for a declaration of enforceability may be appealed by either party within one month of service thereof for lack of enforceability
pursuant to Articles 34 and 35 of the Lugano Conven - tion. The appeal is to be lodged with the competent Italian court of appeal, and the appeal will be dealt with in accordance with Italian rules of civil procedure. The decision on the appeal can be appealed before the Italian Corte di Cassazione . Challenge of Non-EU Countries’ Judgments Under the Italian Private International Law Act As mentioned in 3.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Foreign Judgments , pursuant to Article 67 of the Italian Private International Law Act, in the event of non-voluntary compliance with a judg - ment or opposition thereto, any interested party may apply to the judicial authority to obtain a decision to ascertain whether the requirements for recognition are met. That decision may be appealed by any interested party pursuant to Italian procedural rules. 4. Arbitral Awards 4.1 Legal Issues Concerning Enforcement of Arbitral Awards As described in greater detail in 4.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Arbitral Awards , the legal framework for the enforcement of arbitral awards – including the relevant procedure – varies depending on whether the award to be enforced is domestic or foreign. Jurisdiction for enforcement is not based on the location of the award debtor’s assets. With regard to domestic awards, the competent court for exequatur proceedings is the court of first instance ( tribunale ) at the seat of arbitration. As regards foreign awards, the competent court for recognition and enforcement is the court of appeal ( corte d ’ appello ) of the place of the defendant’s domicile. If the defendant is not domiciled in Italy, the Rome Court of Appeal will have jurisdiction. It should be noted that, once an award has obtained the exequatur, the enforcement proceedings on the debtor’s assets are subject to a different set of rules governing enforcement in general (Articles 474 et seq of the CCP). Under this framework, the jurisdiction to oversee enforcement and to decide on oppositions
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