The Recast Brussels I Regulation Abolishes Exequatur

 

The objective of this Regulation is to make the circulation of judgments in civil and commercial matters easier and faster within the Union, in line with the principle of mutual recognition and the Stockholm Programme guidelines.

With regard to the recognition and enforcement of judgments, according to Article 36 of the Regulation, judgments given in a Member State shall be recognized in the other Member States without any special procedure being required. This is another major step in the process of mutual recognition of Member States called for by the European Council in Tampere in October 1999.

However, if exequatur is abolished, however, the regulation provides a mechanism for refusing recognition or enforcement. Article 45 of the Regulation provides that the recognition of a judgment may be refused on the application of any interested party. Such is the case when the decision was given in default appearance, if the defendant was not served with the document which instituted the proceedings or with an equivalent document in sufficient time and in such a way as to enable him to arrange for his defence, unless the defendant failed to commence proceedings to challenge the judgment when it was possible for him to do so. For the same reasons as those mentioned in Article 45, it is also possible to refuse the enforcement of the decision.

As seen, the document initiating proceedings is placed once again at the heart of the justice system. In this regard, the UIHJ keeps repeating that only a writ of summons served by a legal professional independent, impartial, reliable and responsible, as the judicial officer, offers the degree of security sufficient to establish with certainty its content and how it was served to the addressee.

This Regulation shall apply in all member states of the European Union from 10 January 2015. States have until 10 January 2014 to communicate to the European Commission the information mentioned under sections 75 and 76.