Enforcement of judgments in the EU. Ilse Couwenberg Judge of the Belgian Court of Cassation Member of the EJN

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1 Enforcement of judgments in the EU Ilse Couwenberg Judge of the Belgian Court of Cassation Member of the EJN

2 Introduction A Croatian creditor claims before the Croatian court payment of an invoice. The debtor lives in Belgium, but also has assets in other Member States Enforcement outside Croatia can be expected

3 EU-legislation relating to enforcement in civil and commercial matters Since Treaty of Amsterdam one of the main goals of the European Union is the creation of one European judicial area Judicial basis: article 81 2 TFEU - European Commission proposes measures on judicial cooperation with cross border implications / adopted by the European Parliament and the Council - DK opted out, UK (before the Brexit) and IE can opt in Acquis: more than 10 EU-Regulations with rules on recognition/enforcement

4 Quid post-brexit? Reading tea leaves Art. 50 European Council guidelines (23 March 2018) Way to proceed? - national procedures? - existing conventions? (Lugano Convention) - new bilateral agreement?

5 Enforcement of judgments in other MS 2 enforcement regimes within the EU: exequatur direct enforcement Ultimate goal of the European legislator: abolition of exequatur - causes unnecessary delay during cross border enforcement of judgments - prevents the creation of a European area of justice based on mutual trust free movement of judgments - full faith and credit

6 Enforcement Exequatur Brussels I Regulation (EU Reg. 44/2001) - enforceable judgments from MS ( + DK) in civil and commercial matters - no cross border element required - in proceedings instituted before 10 January 2015

7 Enforcement - Exequatur Brussels IIbis Regulation (EU Reg. 2201/2003) - exequatur unless judgment on access rights/judgment to return abducted children after an initial non-return order but choice (under revision abolition of exequatur is to be expected ) Maintenance Regulation (EU Reg. 4/2009) - exequatur if the decision is rendered by a MS not bound by the Hague Protocol of 2007 on maintenance obligations (UK DK) Succession Regulation (EU Reg. 650/2012) Regulation on matrimonial property regimes (EU Reg. 2016/1103) and registered partnerships (EU Reg. 2016/1104) In force 29 January 2019

8 Enforcement Exequatur Simple and quick ex parte procedure - application by an interested party - procedure determined by national law - limited task of the exequatur judge rubberstamp judgment Contradictory proceedings in appeal Limited grounds for refusal a)enforcement is contrary to public policy b) violation of the procedural rights of the defendant c) judgment is irreconcilable with the judgment of the MS of enforcement/other MS [d) court of origin accepted jurisdiction in breach of protective jurisdictional rules]

9 Enforcement direct enforcement EEO Regulation (EU Reg. 805/2004) - enforceable judgment MS (not DK) on uncontested claim (CJEU, C-511/14, Aston Martin) in civil and commercial matters (not necessarily cross border), in proceedings instituted after 21 January court, competent for the merits of the case, issues certificate - if procedural minimum guarantees are met: a) rules on informing the defendant on the pendant procedure b) rules on informing the defendant on the claim ways to contest c) minimum standards for review in exceptional cases (CJEU, C-300/14, Imtech) - certificate decision can be enforced directly in the European judicial area = EEO European passport

10 Enforcement EEO-certificate

11 Enforcement direct enforcement Brussels Ibis Regulation (EU Reg. 1215/2012) - Abolition of exequatur but no full faith and credit shift of control from exequatur judge to enforcement judge - Scope of application: - enforceable judgment (CJEU, C-551/15, Pula Parking) in (not excluded) civil and commercial matters - judgment as to the substance of the matter - judgment containing provisional or protective measures if a) granted by court having jurisdiction to as to the substance, and b) if rendered ex parte, has been served on the defendant prior to the enforcement - decision from MS + DK, rendered in proceedings instituted on or after 10 January 2015

12 Enforcement Brussel Ibis Enforcement procedure - request for enforcement - judgment + certificate (translation?) - national enforcement authority (e-justice EJN information sheets) - certificate is served on the debtor reasonable time before first enforcement measure

13 Enforcement Brussels Ibis

14 Enforcement Brussels Ibis - request to refuse enforcement - competent national court (art. 75 Brussel Ibis Regulation) - can a) limit to provisional measures b) make enforcement conditional on the provision of a security c) suspend the enforcement proceedings obligatory when the enforceability of the judgment is suspended in the MS of origin d) refuse the enforcement

15 Enforcement Brussel Ibis - Request to refuse enforcement grounds for refusal a) recognition is contrary to public policy b) judgment violated procedural rights of defence of the defaulting defendant c) judgment is irreconcilable with judgment given in MS of enforcement/other MS d) judgment violates the exclusive or protective jurisdiction rules = same grounds to refuse the exequatur Which court? - Actual enforcement procedure is governed by national law

16 Enforcement in the EU Choice exequatur direct enforcement depends on a) subject matter b) content of the judgment (provisional measures?) c) date of the judgment d) choice of the creditor e) regime of enforcement

17 Helping hand the EJN Roots in the Treaty of Amsterdam operational since 1 December 2002 Aim: create a flexible structure, which operates in an informal way, in order to simplify and strengthen judicial cooperation between the Member States (and their judges) in civil and commercial matters to the benefit of parties involved in cross border cases Composed by national contact points e-justice portal ( EJN judges contact point Periodical meetings

18 Tasks of the EJN Offering assistance [via the national contact points] to judges by: - answering questions related to the application of European PIL Regulations - facilitating the contacts between the courts of different Member States questions can only be asked in connection with an actual dispute the obtained information is not binding

19 EJN contact point

20 Tasks of the EJN Facilitating access to information for citizens / practitioners / judges on the application of EU-law and the national laws of the Member States - distribution of general information on new European PIL-initiatives, envisaged recasts, - distribution of information on the national legislation of the Member States via fact sheets - drafting of Practice Guides on the application of European PIL- Regulations (Evidence, Brussels IIbis, EEO, )

21 Tasks of the EJN factsheets national law

22 Tasks of the EJN factsheets national law

23 Tasks of the EJN Practice guides

24 Useful websites - under revision jure (Brussels I, Brussels IIbis, Lugano)

25 Thank you for your attention Ilse

European Enforcement of Judgments

European Enforcement of Judgments ERA Conference 23 January 2013 Liselot Samyn 1 Topics 1. European Exequatur 2. European Enforcement Order 1 2 European Exequatur 1. Definition 2. Legal sources 3. Evolution