DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Johannes Hedegaard and Tobias Bøgh, Bruun & Hjejle
tion of judgments is published by the Danish Courts Administration on this website . Further, almost all Supreme Court judgments are published on the web - site of the Supreme Court, while selected judgments from the High Courts are made available on the East - ern High Court and Western High Court sections. Additionally, a number of private journals publish selected judgments within different areas of law. It is typically not possible to request the removal of a judgment from any of the above-mentioned websites or journals if the judgment has been fulfilled. However, it should be noted that judgments that are published in Denmark are usually anonymised. In general, it is possible to obtain a copy of a specific judgment directly from the court that has issued the judgment against payment of a fee of DKK150. 3. Foreign Judgments 3.1 Legal Issues Concerning Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Under Danish law, no general legal framework exists according to which foreign judgments are enforceable in Denmark by default. Rather, the prevailing principle under Danish law is that foreign judgments cannot be enforced as a matter of course unless this has been established by law. In accordance with Section 479 of the Danish Admin - istration of Justice Act, the Danish Minister of Justice is authorised to issue provisions whereby judgments rendered by foreign courts and authorities pertaining to civil claims may be enforced in Denmark provided that the decisions are enforceable in the state where they were rendered, and provided that enforcement will not be manifestly incompatible with the legal order of Denmark. However, this authority has only been exercised to a very limited extent with low practical significance. Nevertheless, Denmark has acceded to various inter - national treaties and conventions regarding enforce - ability of foreign judgments which have been incor - porated into Danish law through separate statutory
provisions. Thus, many foreign judgments are enforce - able in Denmark. In practice, the most significant treaties and con - ventions applicable in Denmark are Regulation No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commer - cial matters (recast) (the Brussels I Regulation), the Convention on Jurisdiction and the Recognition and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters of 21 December 2007 (the Lugano Conven - tion), and the Hague Choice of Courts Convention 2005 (the Hague Convention). In addition, other trea - ties and conventions apply to other specific areas of law. The Brussels I Regulation and the Lugano Convention While being a member of the European Union (EU), Denmark does not participate in the EU’s judicial cooperation in civil matters due to opt-outs in accord - ance with protocol No 22 annexed to the EU treaties. As a result, EU regulations related to judicial coopera - tion in civil matters are only applicable in Denmark if a “parallel agreement” has been concluded between the EU and Denmark. One such parallel agreement exists in relation to the Brussels I Regulations, which stipulate that judgments in commercial matters from any EU member state are generally recognised and enforceable in other EU member states, including Denmark. Thus, commer - cial judgments from courts in EU countries are, as a general rule, recognised and enforced in Denmark. In addition, together with the EU and Iceland, Nor - way, and Switzerland (member states of the Euro - pean Free Trade Association (EFTA)), Denmark has, as an independent contracting state, entered into the Lugano Convention. The Lugano Convention extends the principles of the Brussels I Regulation to apply between EU member states and Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland, as it largely mirrors the provisions of the Brussels I Regulation. As a result, commercial judg - ments from Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland are, as a general rule, recognised and enforced in Denmark, and vice versa.
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