One of the main innovations is the automatic recognition of decisions in civil and commercial matters without the use of the exequatur procedure.
A decision given in a Member State is recognized in another Member State without the need for a specific procedure (EU Regulation No 1215/2012, Article 36).
Provisional and protective measures are also included in the definition of “decision”, pursuant to the Regulations’ Art. 2, provided that they are issued by a competent Authority.
In order to obtain the recognition of a decision in a Member State other than that of origin, it will be sufficient to produce:
– Authentic copy of the measure;
– a certificate drawn up by the judicial authority of the home Member State whose standard model is attached to the Regulation.
The “free circulation of decisions” also applies to enforceable ones.
The Regulations’ Article 39 provides that the enforcement order in a Member State is also enforceable in other EU States and the relevant enforcement procedure in accordance with Article 41 will be governed by the law of the Member State in which it is intended to be perfomed.
Before being applied, the enforcement or the notification of an executive decision – together with the certification e drawn up by the judicial authority of the home Member State – shall be notified to the executed party.
For this purpose, the notification of the enforcement decision may take place together with the first act by which it is intended to be executed.
The new discipline enshrined in the Brussels Regulation 1bis is part of the numerous other legislative initiatives adopted by the European Legislator in the last decade, aimed at fully implementing the European Union’s policies on the free movement, recognition and enforcement of judicial decisions between Member States.