LUXEMBOURG Law and Practice Contributed by: Elisabeth Omes, Stephen De Ron and Lorenzo Cappelli, Elvinger Hoss Prussen
2. Domestic Judgments 2.1 Types of Domestic Judgments
the case to the court that rendered the judgment for a fresh decision. Judgments on the Merits and Procedural Judgments Judgments on the merits ( jugements au fond ) deter - mine all or part of the parties’ substantive merits of claims and counterclaims. Procedural judgments ( jugements sur exception ou incidents de procédure ) address procedural issues, such as jurisdiction admissibility, limitation periods or other procedural objections, without examining the substantive merits of the claim. Interim and Provisional Judgments Interim judgments are rendered during proceedings on the merits to: (i) manage the conduct of the pro - ceedings; (ii) order investigative measures; (iii) appoint experts; or (iv) preserve evidence. These judgments may be rendered by the court or by the case-manag - ing judge ( juge de la mise en état ). Summary Orders Summary proceedings ( référés ) brought before the judge sitting in summary matters ( juge des référés ) may order provisional measures or grant provisional relief where urgency exists or where immediate pro - tective measures are required, including: • to prevent imminent harm; • to preserve a factual or legal situation; • to grant interim payments; and • to protect evidence. Enforceable and Non-Enforceable Judgments Perhaps the most important distinction must be made between judgments that are immediately enforceable and those that cannot. As a general rule, a Luxembourg judgment becomes enforceable in Luxembourg once: • it has acquired the authority of res judicata ( force de chose jugée ); • the applicable time limit for appeal has expired (or appeals have been determined); and
Luxembourg law classifies domestic judgments according to several criteria, including their procedural nature, the involvement of the parties, their subject matter and their enforceability. Luxembourg is a civil law jurisdiction that provides for a traditional three-tier court system, consisting of proceedings at first instance, on appeal and before the Court of Cassation. Parties generally have the right to appeal judicial decisions except in certain cases, such as those involving very small claims. A judgment acquires the authority of res judicata, and becomes final after all rights of appeal have been exhausted or the applicable time limit for lodging an appeal has expired. Where a party fails to appear during the proceedings, the court may render a default judgment or a judgment deemed adversarial. Judgment Deemed Adversarial Where the absent party was personally served with notice to appear or with a summons, the court ren - ders a judgment deemed to be adversarial ( jugement réputé contradictoire ). Although absent from the pro - ceedings, the defendant remains bound by the court’s ruling and any order rendered by the court. Default Judgment Where, however, the claimant is unable to locate the defendant personally to serve notice to appear or a summons, the court may render a default judgment ( jugement par défaut ) if the service has been made properly by other means. A defendant against whom a default judgment has been rendered may generally file an opposition (instead of appealing to a higher court), enabling the same court to re-examine the case. Unless otherwise provided by law, the opposition suspends enforce - ment of the default judgment. It also gives the defend - ant an opportunity to explain to the judge the reasons for the failure to appear and to present the defence’s arguments. Unlike an appeal, an opposition returns
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