DENMARK Law and Practice Contributed by: Johannes Hedegaard and Tobias Bøgh, Bruun & Hjejle
an application must be submitted in writing to a com - petent bailiff’s court. The application must be accom - panied by the documentation set forth in Article 53 of the convention, including a copy of the judgment which satisfies the conditions necessary to estab - lish its authenticity and a certificate from the court of origin certifying that the judgment is enforceable. If the bailiff’s court so requires, a certified translation of the documents must be produced. In conjunction with the application, the judgment creditor may also request the actual enforcement of the judgment, ie, in the same application. If the bailiff’s court finds that the formal requirements set out in Article 53 of the convention are met, the judgment must be declared enforceable immediately, without any review of potential grounds for refusal and without the judgment debtor being entitled to make any submissions against the application at this stage (see Article 41 of the Lugano Convention). Subsequently, the decision of the bailiff’s court regard - ing the enforceability may be appealed by either par - ty to the High Court and then, with the leave of the Appeals Permission Board, to the Supreme Court in accordance with the general rules on appeal set forth in Chapter 37 of the Administration of Justice Act. Upon the judgment being declared enforceable by the bailiff’s court, the actual enforcement – eg, attachment or other actions of enforcement requested – may be initiated in accordance with the general rules in the Danish Administration of Justice Act. However, until the time limit for appealing the decision on enforce - ability has expired, or until any appeal has been decid - ed, no forced sale of attached goods or other meas - ures that go beyond ensuring the presence of goods that can be enforced may be conducted. The Hague Convention In accordance with the Hague Convention, a judgment given by a court of a contracting state designated in an exclusive choice of court agreement shall be enforced in other contracting states, including Denmark, if it is enforceable in the state of origin. This requires that the judgment in question be declared enforceable in a manner similar to that applicable with respect to judgments subject to the Lugano Convention.
Thus, an application of enforceability must be sub - mitted in writing to a competent bailiff’s court. The application must be accompanied by the documenta - tion set forth in Article 13 of the Convention, including a complete and certified copy of the judgment and the exclusive choice of court agreement or a certified copy thereof. Where appropriate, certified translations of the documents shall be produced. In conjunction with the application, the judgment creditor may also request the actual enforcement of the judgment, ie, in the same application. It follows from the Danish Act on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments that the sub - sequent procedure is identical to the procedure described above regarding judgments subject to the Lugano Convention. 3.5 Costs and Time Taken to Enforce Foreign Judgments The time and costs involved in enforcing a foreign judgment are typically the same as those for enforc - ing a domestic judgment. Please refer to section 2.3 Costs and Time Taken to Enforce Domestic Judg- ments . 3.6 Challenging Enforcement of Foreign Judgments The grounds upon which the enforcement of foreign judgments can be challenged are dependent on the relevant treaty or convention on which the enforce - ment is based. Brussels I Regulation As previously stated, pursuant to the Brussels I Regu - lation, a judgment given in a member state which is enforceable in that member state shall be enforced in other member states, including in Denmark, without any declaration of enforceability being required. In accordance with Section 2 (3) of the Danish Act on Recognition and Enforcement, the party against whom enforcement is sought may request that enforcement be refused in accordance with Articles 41 (2) and 46 of the Brussels I Regulation. Pursuant to Article 46, enforcement of a judgment may be refused if one or more of the grounds set forth in
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