ITALY Law and Practice Contributed by: Marco Torsello, Federica Serrantoni, Lucia Pontremoli and Gregorio Baldoli, ArbLit
Process of Enforcing a Non-EU Country Judgment Lugano Convention As with the Brussels I bis Regulation, the Lugano Con - vention also provides for the automatic recognition and direct enforcement in Italy of the judgment ren - dered in another signatory country of the Lugano Con - vention and provides for specific and limited grounds on which recognition can be refused. That said, some formalities must also be complied with under the Lugano Convention. Specifically, pur - suant to Article 33 (2) of the Lugano Convention, any interested party who raises the recognition of a judg - ment as the principal issue in a dispute may apply for a decision that the judgment be recognised. Pursuant to Article 53 of the Lugano Convention, the applications for recognition of a foreign judgment or for a declaration of enforceability must be presented before the Italian competent court of appeal, together with: • a copy of the judgment that satisfies the conditions necessary to establish its authenticity; and • the certificate referred to in Article 54 of the Lugano Convention, which is issued by the court or com - petent authority of a signatory state upon request of the interested party. Also in this case, the seised court merely verifies whether the formal criteria are met. It does not review Similarly, as mentioned in 3.3 Categories of Foreign Judgments Not Enforced (Judgments Rendered in Non-EU Countries), under the 2019 Hague Conven - tion, a judgment given by a court of a contracting state will be recognised and enforced in Italy only if it has effect and is enforceable in the state of origin. Nonetheless, also in this case, certain formalities are needed. Specifically, pursuant to Article 12 of the 2019 Hague Convention, a party seeking recognition or applying for enforcement must produce a complete and certified copy of the judgment, as well as any documents necessary to establish that the judgment has effect or is enforceable in the state of origin. the merits of the judgment. 2019 Hague Convention
before the competent Italian court of first instance, together with a copy of the judgment and – where necessary – a translation thereof. In addition to the foregoing, Article 37 of the Brussels I bis Regulation establishes that a party who wishes to invoke in Italy a judgment rendered in another EU member state must produce: • a copy of the judgment that satisfies the conditions necessary to establish its authenticity; and • the certificate referred to in Article 53 of the Brus - sels I bis Regulation, which is issued by the court of origin upon request of the interested party and indicates the relevant information concerning the judgment and the related matter. Also in this case, the application must be presented before the Italian competent court of first instance. The court’s assessment is merely formal, meaning that the seised court cannot review the merits of the foreign judgment. As to the enforcement, pursuant to Article 42 of the Brussels I bis Regulation, the applicant must provide: • a copy of the judgment that satisfies the conditions necessary to establish its authenticity; and • the certificate issued pursuant to Article 53 of the Brussels I bis Regulation, certifying that the judg - ment is enforceable and containing an extract of the judgment. Pursuant to Article 43 of the Brussels I bis Regulation, the above-mentioned certificate must be served on the person against whom the enforcement is sought prior to the first enforcement measure. The certificate must be accompanied by the judgment, if not already served on that person. Once a judgment has been declared enforceable, pur - suant to Article 41 of the Brussels I bis Regulation, the relevant enforcement procedure is that established under Italian law for the enforcement of national judg - ments. Reference is thus made to 2.2 Enforcement of Domestic Judgments .
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