EU Law and Practice Contributed by: Nathalie Colin, Florence Frühling and Niels Depaepe, Freshfields
2.3 Costs and Time Taken to Enforce Domestic Judgments
without needing to navigate the various national legal systems. Concerning the application process, the creditor submits a standard application form to the competent courts, including details about the parties involved, the amount claimed and the basis for the claim. • The EAPO Regulation facilitates cross-border debt recovery in civil and commercial matters within the EU. It allows a creditor to freeze funds held in a debtor’s bank account(s) in a member state other than the member state where the creditor is domi - ciled or where the court is located (not applicable to Denmark). This instrument is issued by domestic courts and allows for the freezing of bank accounts within the EU. It can be used either as an interim relief by securing the enforcement of a yet-to-be pronounced judgment or as a way to enforce an already rendered judgment. • The European Enforcement Order for uncontested claims (Regulation (EC) No 805/2004 of the Euro - pean Parliament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 creating a European Enforcement Order for uncontested claims) simplifies the cross-border recognition and enforcement of EU judgments, court settlements and authentic instruments without intermediate proceedings for claims that are no longer contested by the debtor. This regula - tion is applicable to judgments from all EU mem - ber states, except for Denmark. It abolishes the requirement for specific enforceability proceedings (exequatur) for judgments falling within the scope of the regulation, allowing for swift and efficient cross-border recognition and enforcement. 2.2 Enforcement of Domestic Judgments Enforcing a domestic judgment within the same domestic state involves using the mechanisms and procedures available within that jurisdiction. Please refer to the national enforcement options and pro - cedures set out in the other chapters of this Global Practice Guide. However, instruments at the EU level have led to cer - tain harmonisation in this field (eg, Directive 2004/48/ EC of 29 April 2004 on the enforcement of IP rights).
The costs and time required to enforce domestic judgments will significantly depend on the national jurisdiction in which the judgment is being enforced, primarily depending on the specific legal procedures and the court system in general. Please refer to the national enforcement options and procedures set out in the other chapters of this Global Practice Guide. Post-judgment procedures for determining defend - ants’ assets are mainly regulated at the national level. Please refer to the national enforcement options and procedures set out in the other chapters of this Global Practice Guide. However, next to national asset disclosure proce - dures, the European Account Preservation Order introduced in Regulation (EU) No 655/2014 includes provisions for obtaining information about the defend - ant’s assets. Creditors can request the court to obtain information about the defendant’s bank accounts. 2.5 Challenging Enforcement of Domestic Judgments In Europe, defendants have several avenues to chal - lenge the enforcement of a domestic judgment within their own country, based on national rules. These mechanisms are generally designed to ensure fair - ness and due process, and the specific procedures can vary from country to country. Such mechanisms may include, for example, an appeal or revision of the enforcement measure itself, an application for a stay or suspension of enforcement pending an appeal of the original judgment, and an option for third parties to reclaim assets subject to enforcement by assert - ing objections based on their property rights over the property seized. 2.4 Post-Judgment Procedures for Determining Defendants’ Assets An appeal or revision of the measure may, for exam - ple, be based on substantive grounds (eg, the lack of a current and effective title further to a change in the relationship between the creditor and debtor) or procedural grounds (eg, use of the wrong attachment procedure).
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