EU Law and Practice Contributed by: Nathalie Colin, Florence Frühling and Niels Depaepe, Freshfields
Please refer to the national enforcement options and procedures set out in the other chapters of this Global Practice Guide. 2.6 Unenforceable Domestic Judgments The EU primarily influences cross-border legal matters between its member states rather than purely domes - tic situations. The enforceability of judgments without cross-border elements is, in principle, governed by the national laws of the member states in question. Please refer to the national enforcement options and procedures set out in the other chapters of this Global Practice Guide. 2.7 Register of Domestic Judgments There is no centralised register of domestic judgments across all member states. Nevertheless, in Europe, several countries have registers for judgments, which are publicly available. Please refer to the national enforcement options and procedures set out in the other chapters of this Global Practice Guide. 3. Foreign Judgments 3.1 Legal Issues Concerning Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Enforcement of foreign judgments within the EU is governed by several EU regulations and international treaties. Recognition and Enforceability of Judgments in General Depending on the specific regulation or treaty appli - cable, foreign judgments may be recognised and con - sidered enforceable automatically, meaning that there is immediate access to national means of enforce - ment in the jurisdiction where enforcement is sought. In other instances, recognition may not be automatic, and specific proceedings may need to be followed in order to obtain access to national means of enforce - ment. Such proceedings are typically referred to as exequatur proceedings – ie, proceedings geared at
obtaining a declaration of enforceability by the com - petent court. Even under mutual recognition regimes, there are grounds upon which a member state can refuse to enforce a foreign judgment (see 3.6 Challenging Enforcement of Foreign Judgments ). Applicable Legislation Multiple legal instruments can govern the enforcement of foreign judgments (eg, domestic law, multilateral conventions, bilateral conventions, EU regulations). In the EU, the principal international treaties/conventions relevant to the enforcement of foreign judgments in civil and commercial matters are: • the Convention of 30 October 2007 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (the “Lugano Con - vention”), which applies to judgments rendered in the EU and Norway, Switzerland and Iceland; • the Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements (the “Hague Choice of Court Convention”), which only applies to judgments in international cases rendered by courts that assumed jurisdiction based on an exclusive choice of court agreement concluded in civil or commer - cial matters; and • the Convention of 2 July 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters (the “Hague Judgments Con - vention”), which is complementary to the Hague Choice of Court Convention. As for EU regulations, the principal legal instrument governing the recognition and enforceability of for - eign judgments 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 “Brussels I Recast Regulation”). Other EU regulations are also of particular importance, such as: • Regulation (EC) No 805/2004 of the European Par - liament and of the Council of 21 April 2004 creating a European Enforcement Order for uncontested claims;
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