LUXEMBOURG Law and Practice Contributed by: Elisabeth Omes, Stephen De Ron and Lorenzo Cappelli, Elvinger Hoss Prussen
Portal, which serves as the principal official database for Luxembourg case law. The register of judgments held by the court clerks is not public, and neither are the briefs and underlying documents exchanged between the parties and sub - mitted to the court. 3. Foreign Judgments 3.1 Legal Issues Concerning Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Enforcement of a Judgment From a Foreign Country Luxembourg often deals with the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. The applicable procedure depends primarily on the country in which the judgment was rendered, and whether its recogni - tion and enforcement are governed by an applicable international instrument. For enforcement purposes, foreign judgments fall into three categories. Distinction must be made between: • judgments originating from member states of the European Union (EU); • judgments rendered in states bound by an interna - tional convention applicable in Luxembourg; and • judgments originating from states for which no such international regime exists. The legal issues arising in the enforcement process vary significantly depending on which category applies. EU judgments Brussels I Recast Regulation The principal instrument governing the recognition and enforcement of judgments within the EU is Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (recast) – the Brus - sels I Recast Regulation. It does not apply to matters such as personal status and legal capacity, matrimo - nial property, insolvency, social security, arbitration, maintenance obligations, or wills and succession,
for which other instruments apply. Creditors should also look into other EU agreements for enforcing their claims, such as the European order for payment, the European enforcement order for undisputed claims, the EAPO (see 1.1 Options to Identify Another Party’s Asset Position ), or the EU. The Brussels I Recast Regulation is founded on the principles of mutual trust and the free circulation of judgments within the EU. One of the Brussels I Recast Regulation’s most sig - nificant innovations is the abolition of the traditional exequatur procedure. Accordingly, a judgment ren - dered in one member state is generally recognised and enforceable in another without the need for a prior declaration of enforceability. Consequently, a creditor seeking enforcement in Lux - embourg will generally only be required to produce: • a copy of the judgment satisfying the necessary authenticity requirements; and • the certificate issued pursuant to Article 53 of the Brussels I Recast Regulation. Luxembourg courts may refuse recognition or enforcement only in limited cases. In fact, the Brus - sels I Recast Regulation lists the grounds upon which recognition and, consequently, enforcement, may be refused by the courts of the member state in which the enforcement is sought. These grounds are the following: • if the foreign judgment is such that its recognition would be manifestly contrary to public policy in that EU member state; • if the foreign judgment was given by default in a manner that prevented the defendant from arrang - ing a defence, as under conditions provided by the Brussels I Recast Regulation; • if the foreign judgment is irreconcilable with anoth - er judgment given between the same parties in the EU member state in which the request is made; • if the foreign judgment is irreconcilable with an earlier judgment from another EU member state (or a third state) between the same parties, concerning
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