Recognition and Enforcement of a Foreign Judgment – Part 1

Within the European Union, the issue of the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments is governed by several regulations which are generally directly binding for all member states, resulting in a uniform framework for the recognition and enforcement of judgments in the European Union.

These regulations primarily include:

Thanks to these regulations, the procedure for the recognition and enforcement of judgments in the European Union is greatly simplified and accelerated compared to the rules relating to other states. Although the individual regulations have their specifics, in principle, foreign judgments are, subject to certain conditions, recognised and, in some cases, enforced automatically without a special procedure. Only compliance with certain formal conditions is required, and the judgments are not reviewed as to their content.

The Brussels I Regulation applies to civil and commercial matters.

The Regulation does not apply to:

For applicability, the relevant date is the commencement of proceedings, or the drawing up or registration of the title after the entry into force of the Regulation (March 1, 2002).

A foreign enforceable title is automatically recognised and declared enforceable immediately upon fulfilling the formal requirements under Article 53 (submission of a copy of the title meeting the requirements for establishing its authenticity and a certificate of enforceability issued by the court of origin according to Annex V or VI of the Regulation).

The defendant has no right to make any submissions at this stage of the proceedings (i.e., Section 44 para. 5 of the Enforcement Act does not apply, and the enforcement court in Slovak circumstances issues a warrant stating the confirmation of the title’s enforceability in the Slovak Republic) and has no possibility to prevent or delay the securing of the creditor’s claim recovery.

An important difference compared to our domestic procedural regulation (i.e., beyond the scope of the Enforcement Act) is the admissibility of an appeal against the decision on the application for a declaration of enforceability (Article 43). The time limit for appeal is one month from the service of the declaration of enforceability of the judgment, or two months if the defendant is domiciled outside the state of enforcement.

The requirement for service of the decision on the declaration of enforceability (Article 42 para. 2 of Brussels I) is not reflected in the Enforcement Act. The enforcement court declares enforceability in the warrant for enforcement, not by a separate order.

The first decision in the enforcement proceedings served on the defendant is the Notification of the Commencement of Enforcement, issued by the judicial executor. Therefore, the executor will have to state in the notification of the commencement of enforcement that the enforcement court has declared the foreign enforceable title enforceable and at the same time instruct the defendant about their right to appeal according to Article 43 of the Regulation. The court must decide on the lodged appeal without delay; it can only grant this appeal due to the defects listed in Articles 34 and 35 of the Regulation. Until the expiry of the appeal period, or until the decision on the appeal, only protective measures may be taken against the defendant’s assets. In contrast to the Slovak domestic regulation, the court of enforcement may make enforcement conditional on the provision of security at its discretion.

The Regulation sets out basic rules only for the method of recognition of a judgment. The enforcement of this judgment itself is, however, governed exclusively by the legal order of the Member State in which its enforcement is sought. The application for recognition and enforcement of a foreign judgment must be submitted in the Member State to the competent authority listed in the annex to the regulation. In Slovakia, this is the District Court or a judicial executor.

In addition to issues related to the mutual recognition and enforcement of judgments, the regulation also regulates the jurisdiction of the courts of individual Member States. In principle, a person may be sued in the courts of the Member State where the defendant is domiciled or habitually resident.

However, the Regulation also contains several exceptions. For example, in matters relating to contractual relationships (purchase contract or contract for work), the defendant may be sued in the court of the place of performance of the obligation. For claims for damages arising from an act considered a criminal offense, a person may also be sued in the court of the Member State which has jurisdiction to rule on damages in civil proceedings. In matters relating to insurance, consumer contracts, and employment contracts, the insured, consumer, and employee are protected to a greater extent. They may be sued only in the courts of the Member State in which they are domiciled. Conversely, the consumer or employee has the right to sue the stronger contracting party (insurer or employer) also in the court of the state where the employer has its seat. In the case of employment contracts, in the court of the state where the employee habitually carries out his work. The weaker party thus always has a choice.

However, there are also areas of legal relationships in which so-called exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of the Member States applies. This concerns, for example, relationships concerning proprietary rights in immovable property (ownership or mortgage rights). In these, the courts of the Member State in which the immovable property is situated have exclusive jurisdiction.

However, the Regulation also allows for a mutual agreement that all disputes that have arisen or may arise in connection with a certain relationship between the contracting parties will be decided by the court of the chosen state. Such an agreement is not possible in the aforementioned special cases protecting the weaker party in insurance, consumer contracts, or employment relationships.

The Regulation also takes into account the situation where proceedings are brought before courts in two different states. The rule is that the court second seized shall of its own motion stay its proceedings until such time as the court first seized declares that it has jurisdiction. Where the court first seized declares that it has no jurisdiction, the court second seized shall proceed with the case.

Generally, the Regulation applies only to proceedings instituted or documents drawn up or registered after March 1, 2002. In the case of Slovakia and other new members, from May 1, 2004. Of course, if a lawsuit was initiated before the country’s entry into the EU in a court of one of the “old” members of the Union, it is already recognisable, for example, in Slovakia.

The amendment to the Slovak Act on Private International Law and Procedure established a system for the recognition of foreign judgments that applies equally to both Member and non-Member States of the Union. This means that the process of recognizing foreign judgments in Slovakia is uniform and does not depend on the state in which the judgment was issued. A positive aspect is also the fact that the Slovak Republic abandoned the principle of reciprocity, i.e., the recognition of a foreign judgment in the Slovak Republic does not require that the third state also grants the same effects to judgments issued in Slovakia.

Basic information on the recognition and enforcement of judgments under the mentioned regulations, model forms, as well as other useful information can be found on the website of the European e-Justice Portal for civil matters. Important information from this area can also be found on the website of the European Judicial Network in civil and commercial matters.

If a judgment from a state that is not a Member State of the European Union is to be recognised in Slovakia, or if such a state is to recognise a Slovak judgment in turn, the procedure is usually governed by the relevant international treaties. However, if an international treaty does not exist with the relevant state, the procedure under the Act on Private International Law and Procedure shall apply.

Decisions of foreign authorities, agreements and settlements approved by them in matters stipulated by law, if courts in the Slovak Republic decide on them, as well as foreign notarial deeds in matters stipulated by law (hereinafter referred to as “foreign judgments”) have effect in the Slovak Republic if they have been recognised by Slovak authorities.

A foreign judgment cannot be recognised or enforced if:

Foreign judgments in matrimonial matters and matters of determination (finding or denial) of paternity, if at least one of the parties to the proceedings is a Slovak citizen, and foreign judgments in matters of adoption of a child who is a Slovak citizen, are recognised in the Slovak Republic, unless prevented by the provisions on when a foreign judgment cannot be recognised.

A foreign judgment on the custody of a child or on contact arrangements with him cannot be recognised or enforced if:

The court shall not recognise a foreign judgment on the placement of a child in personal care or on contact arrangements with him at the request of a person claiming that the decision interferes with their parental rights and responsibilities, if the decision was issued without that person having the opportunity to express their views, except in urgent cases.

A foreign judgment in matrimonial matters, in matters of determination (finding or denial) of paternity, and adoption of a child can only be recognised by a special pronouncement of a Slovak court.

A foreign judgment on the placement of a child in personal care and on contact arrangements with the child can be recognised by a special pronouncement of a Slovak court or by ordering its enforcement.

Another foreign judgment is recognised by the Slovak court ordering its enforcement or issuing a warrant for enforcement; if such a decision does not require enforcement, it is recognised by being taken into account as if it were a decision of a Slovak court. At the request of the entitled or obliged party from the foreign judgment, the Slovak court shall always decide on the recognition of such a judgment by a special pronouncement.

A foreign judgment recognised by a Slovak court has the same legal effects as a decision of a Slovak court.

Even without recognition, a foreign judgment in matrimonial matters, in matters of determination (finding or denial) of paternity, and adoption of a child has the same legal effects as a decision of a Slovak court, if the parties are not citizens of the Slovak Republic and if it is not contrary to Slovak public policy.

The application for the recognition of a foreign judgment must clearly state:

The application must contain:

The application must be submitted with the necessary number of copies and annexes so that one copy remains with the court and each party to the proceedings receives one copy.

The applicant is obliged to attach to the application:

The court shall invite the applicant to supplement the incomplete application within a set time limit of not less than 15 days. If the application is not corrected or supplemented despite the court’s invitation and the proceedings cannot continue due to this deficiency, the court shall stop the proceedings. The applicant must be instructed about this consequence.

If the foreign judgment was challenged by an appeal in the state in which it was issued, the court conducting the proceedings for the recognition of the foreign judgment or for ordering the enforcement of the foreign judgment (issuing a warrant for enforcement) may adjourn these proceedings until a final decision on the appeal is made.

If none of the parties to the proceedings submits an objection to the recognition of the foreign judgment within 15 days from the service of the application for recognition of the foreign judgment, the court does not have to schedule a hearing. If the parties to the proceedings declare in writing that they agree with the recognition of the foreign judgment, the court shall not serve the application for recognition and shall not schedule a hearing. The written declaration must be submitted along with an officially certified translation into the Slovak language.

The court is bound by the factual findings on which the foreign authority based its jurisdiction. Review of the foreign judgment on the merits is not permissible.

The court decides by judgment on the recognition of a foreign judgment in matrimonial matters, in matters of determination (finding or denial) of paternity, and adoption of a child. Otherwise, it decides by order. If any of the conditions for recognition of a foreign judgment are not met, the court shall declare that the foreign judgment is not recognised. Otherwise, it recognises the foreign judgment.

If the foreign judgment contains several operative parts and recognition is not possible or necessary for all of them, the court shall recognise the foreign judgment only for those operative parts for which recognition is possible or necessary. Partial recognition of the judgment may also be proposed by the applicant.

In the case of an order on the recognition (non-recognition) of a foreign judgment or on its declaration as enforceable (unenforceable) in the territory of the Slovak Republic, an appeal is admissible against such an order of the appellate court which confirmed the order of the court of first instance.

The fee for the application for recognition of foreign judgments is set at 66 €.

Given that the entire procedure for the recognition and enforcement of a foreign judgment is regulated in the Act on Private International Law and Procedure, the Civil Procedure Code only provides the basic legal regulation. This is found in Section 352b – Part Seven. “Other Activity of the Court,” which mainly deals with the European Enforcement Order.