GERMANY Law and Practice Contributed by: Tanja Pfitzner, Fabian von Schlabrendorff and Niklas-Arne Hecht, Pfitzner Legal
9.5 Enforcement of a Judgment From a Foreign Country Foreign judgments are enforceable under inter- national treaties and conventions and, in the absence of such treaties, under German proce- dural law. Within the European Union, foreign judgments in commercial and civil matters are enforced in accordance with the Recast Brussels Regula- tion. The enforcement of judgments from anoth- er EU member state does not require a separate declaration of enforceability and is subject to the same conditions as German judgments. The same applies to judgments rendered in Swit- zerland, Norway or Iceland under the Lugano Convention 2007. If German procedural law applies to the enforce- ment of a foreign judgment, a formal declara- tion of enforceability (exequatur) is necessary. In exequatur proceedings, the debtor may invoke grounds of defence against enforcement such as satisfaction of the judgment or the following grounds for non-recognition or non-enforcement of the foreign judgment: • the foreign court had no international jurisdic- tion under German law over the subject mat- ter and the parties to the dispute; • there was no service of process; • other proceedings take precedence; • German public policy is violated – eg, in a case of judgments of US courts for punitive damages; and • reciprocity was not granted. The EU ratified the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judg- ments in Civil and Commercial Matters on 29 April 2022, and this ratification came into force on 1 September 2023. The EU’s ratification also
binds Germany, but the practical use of this con- vention appears to be limited, since, apart from the EU, only Ukraine has ratified the convention to date. 10. Appeal 10.1 Levels of Appeal or Review to a Litigation In principle, all acts of the court and its officers may be appealed by the aggrieved party. Ger- man procedural law essentially offers three types of remedies: the first appeal against judgments of the courts of first instance, the second appeal against judgments of the courts of appeal, and the complaint against procedural, minor and/or interlocutory decisions of the courts. In addition, several other remedies, such as protest or objec- tion, are available against other decisions of the court or its officers. 10.2 Rules Concerning Appeals of Judgments In general, all appeals suspend the effect of the judgment, order or decision under appeal. The first appeal is the remedy against judgments of the courts of first instance and is always heard by the next higher court. Appeal judgments are subject to a second appeal. Second appeals are, however, not admissible against appellate judgments in interim proceedings for injunctive relief. If a party appeals only on legal grounds, a judgment of the entry court can be appealed directly at the sec- ond level of appeal, skipping the first appeal. The competent court for a second appeal is always the Federal Court of Justice.
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