SPAIN Law and Practice Contributed by: Alfonso López-Ibor, Pablo Henríquez de Luna, Virginia Jover and Carmen Serrano, López-Ibor Abogados
such as injunctions, and consumer, employment and IP disputes, are beyond the scope of this convention. The Hague Judgments Convention 2019 has a wider scope than the Hague Choice of Court Convention 2005 because no exclusive jurisdiction clauses are required in order for it to apply. Employment and consumer contracts fall within its material scope. The Convention entered into force on 1 September 2023 for the EU (except Denmark) and Ukraine, following the EU’s approval on 29 August 2022. Since its entry into force, the Hague Judgments Con - vention 2019 provides a framework for the free move - ment of judgments between contracting states in civil and commercial matters. The UK signed the Conven - tion on 12 January 2024 and ratified it on 27 June 2024 – this would establish a regime for the mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments between the UK and the EU in civil and commercial matters covered by the Convention. Notice of claims, demands and other judicial documents Finally, Spain will apply the provisions of the Hague Convention of 1965 to notices and documents com - ing from UK courts, which in essence requires ser - vice through the Spanish Ministry of Justice as central authority and the local court of the domicile of the defendant – a procedure that takes considerable time to be completed. As a result of all these changes, the UK jurisdiction has become a less attractive route for deals involv - ing Spanish enforcement. Nevertheless, the entry into force of the Hague Judgments Convention 2019 for the EU, and the UK’s ratification of the same Conven - tion on 27 June 2024 (entering into force on 1 July 2025), partially mitigates this concern. Notwithstand - ing the foregoing, some international businesses con - tinue to include arbitration clauses in their contracts, as arbitration does not come within the scope of the Recast Brussels Regulation or the Lugano Conven - tion. With 168 signatory states, the Convention on the Rec - ognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards
1958 (the “New York Convention”) is a valuable alter - native. 3.2 Variations in Approach to Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Judgments from EU member states differ from those from third countries, as they do not need to be final in order to be enforceable. Enforcement for EU Judgments In civil and commercial matters, the procedure for recognising and enforcing judgments or authentic instruments from EU member states is standardised, provided they are enforceable in the member state of origin (per Chapters III and IV of the Recast Brussels Regulation). No distinction is made between different types of judgment. Recognition and enforcement may be suspended according to Article 38 of the Recast Brussels Regulation if the EU judgment is challenged in the member state of origin. Enforcement for Third-Country Judgments There is no distinction between different types of judg - ments from third countries: they are all considered foreign judgments, regardless of the state of origin. In order to enforce third-country judgments, it is neces - sary to apply the following: • bilateral treaties concerning the enforcement of foreign judgments; or • domestic legislation, in the absence of any bilateral treaty, such as the Legal Co-operation Act or the CPA, as a subsidiary provision should apply. In principle, only final judgments coming from third countries are enforceable in Spain. Interim orders dic - tated by third-country courts can only be enforced if refraining from enforcement will run against the prin - ciple of due process of law ( tutela efectiva ), and pro - vided such foreign measure was not adopted ex parte. 3.3 Categories of Foreign Judgments Not Enforced The following paragraphs list and categorise the for - eign judgments that are not suitable to be enforced, depending on the grounds alleged for the refusal of recognition and enforcement.
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