EU to accede The Hague Convention on recognition of foreign judgements

On the 12 of July 2022, the Council of the European Union adopted the decision for the EU to accede to the 2019 The Hague Convention on the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgements in civil or commercial matters (hereinafter, "the Convention"). 

Until now, EU citizens and businesses seeking to have a judgment given in the EU recognized and enforced in a non-EU country faced a scattered legal landscape due to the absence of a comprehensive international framework for the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in civil and commercial matters. 

The accession of the EU to the Convention will enable the recognition and enforcement of judicial decisions from EU Member States in all contracting States. And, reciprocally, under the condition of respecting EU law prerequisites, it will enable recognition and enforcement of judicial decisions from non-EU States within the EU.

By establishing conditions for recognition and enforcement, and possible grounds for their refusal, the Convention provides certainty and predictability for those operating in transnational civil or commercial situations. Notably, it allows a plaintiff to make an informed decision as to where to initiate proceedings, taking into account where a judgment will be recognised and enforced.

Below are a couple of key elements on the Convention and its application :

• Scope of the Convention : The Convention applies to the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil or commercial matters (Art. 1), including consumer and individual employment contracts. The Convention excludes certain matters from its scope, such as the status and legal capacity of natural persons, family law matters, insolvency, privacy, intellectual property, and certain anti-trust matters (Art. 2(1)). In addition, it doesn't apply to arbitration and related proceedings (Art. 2(3)). Contracting Parties may also declare that the Convention does not apply to other specific matters (Art. 18(1)).

• Recognising and enforcing judgments : The Convention establishes a common framework under which judgments from one Contracting Party will be recognised and / or enforced in another if they are eligible for circulation and the grounds for refusal do not apply. The Convention provides a list of criteria to be used by the court addressed to ascertain whether the judgment is eligible for recognition and enforcement. Therefore, the Convention does not provide rules of direct jurisdiction applicable in the court of origin or in the court addressed. A judgment will be eligible for circulation under the Convention if any of the criteria listed in Article 5(1) are satisfied. An exclusive basis is provided in Article 6 for judgments ruled on rights in rem in immovable property, which would be eligible for circulation if, and only if, the immovable property is situated in the State of origin.

• Possible grounds for refusal : Recognition and enforcement can only be refused on the basis of the grounds listed in the Convention. They are not mandatory, allowing the court addressed to exercise discretion on whether to refuse. The grounds listed in Article 7 are commonly accepted across jurisdictions. They include public policy, due process, and inconsistent judgments.

• Relation with existing instruments : The Convention does not prevent or limit the recognition and enforcement of judgments under national law, bilateral, regional or other international instruments (Arts 15 and 23), with the exception of Article 6. Notably, the Convention will complement the existing instrumentsfor recognition of judgements between EU member states (Brussels I Regulation) and with the European Free Trade Association countries (Lugano Convention), as well as the 2005 Hague convention on choice of court.

• Entry into force : The Convention will enter into force only after 2 parties have ratified/acceded. So far Costa Rica, Israel, Russia, Ukraine, the United States and Uruguay have signed the Convention, but they have not yet ratified it. The EU will be the first party to accede to the Convention. Once in force, all EU member states except Denmark (which does not take part in measures relating to the area of freedom, security and justice) will be bound by the Convention.

For more information :

• The EU Council's press release can be found here.
• The Convention can be found here.
• The outline of the Convention can be found here.
• The status table of contracting parties to the Convention can be found here.