Recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments

Recognition of a foreign judgment means giving it effect in France, in particular res judicata effect, and enforcement means allowing it to be enforced by compulsion on French territory. The regime depends on where the judgment was given. Between EU Member States, it is governed by the Brussels I bis Regulation for judgments given in proceedings instituted on or after 10 January 2015. Outside the Union, it depends on the applicable conventions and, failing that, on the general law of exequatur.

The European regime

A judgment given in one Member State is recognised in the others without any special procedure and is enforceable there without any declaration of enforceability, on production of a copy and of a certificate issued by the court of origin. The party against whom enforcement is sought may apply for refusal of recognition or enforcement on the grounds exhaustively listed in Article 45, including manifest incompatibility with public policy, failure to serve the document instituting the proceedings on a defaulting defendant in sufficient time, irreconcilability with another judgment and breach of the rules on exclusive jurisdiction, including the rule reserving the validity of registered rights to the State of filing. Review as to substance is excluded.

Judgments from third States

The 2007 Lugano Convention extends a similar regime, which retains a declaration of enforceability, to Swiss, Norwegian and Icelandic judgments. The Hague Convention of 2 July 2019, in force for the Union, excludes intellectual property from its scope, which limits its usefulness in this field. In the absence of a convention, exequatur under the general law requires, according to the Court of Cassation, the indirect jurisdiction of the foreign court based on a genuine connection between the dispute and its country, compliance with substantive and procedural international public policy and the absence of fraud, without any review as to substance.

Intellectual property issues

Infringement judgments concerning foreign rights, more frequent since the extension of long arm jurisdiction, raise the question of how they will be received in the State of protection. Decisions of the Unified Patent Court are enforceable in all Contracting Member States and circulate in the other Member States under the Brussels I bis Regulation. Arbitration awards, for their part, fall under the 1958 New York Convention, which facilitates the international enforcement of an award given in a licensing dispute.

Key points

The value of a judgment is also measured by its ability to circulate. Before bringing an action, the countries where the defendant’s assets are located should be identified, together with the recognition regime applicable in each. Where enforcement must take place outside the Union, arbitration or an action in the country of enforcement may prove more effective than a French judgment.

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This glossary entry is general in scope and does not constitute legal advice.

Dhenne Avocats litigates patent disputes before the Paris Judicial Court, the Paris Court of Appeal and the Unified Patent Court. Where the question arises in a real case, the useful moment is almost always before proceedings are issued.

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