Exequatur of foreign judgements in Germany.

Foreign judgements can be recognised and exequted in Germany under the application of the national legal Exequatur Framework or under the application of special international agreements with the country of the judgement.

The judgements of the countries of the European Union can be recognised and exequted in Germany in accordance with the European Private and Public Law Regulations directly and without the procedure of the Exequatur.

Recognition of foreign civil judgements under the application of the Exequatur.

The German Exequatur procedure is regulated with the Sections 722, 723, 328 of the German Civil Litigation Code. The foreign judgement must be formally an aquivalent official decision of a state court and must comply with the european constitutional ordre public.

The Exequatur of foreign judgments will be denied by German courts in cases, which are listed under the Section 328 of the German Civil Litigation Code as „Exequatur Exemptions“. One of the most relevant exemption matters is regulated under the Section 328 Division 5 of the German Civil Litigation Code as „not granted interstately Reciprocity of Judgements“. Among other, the following Exequatur cases were denied by German courts with the argument, that the Reciprocity of Judgements was not granted: The District Court of Saarbrücken on a judgement from a court of China (German court decision of 16.04.2021, Nr. 5 O 249/19); the Higher regional court of Hamburg on a judgement from a court of Russia (German court decision of 13.07.2016, Nr. 6 U 152/11). Due to the restrictive character of the civil litigation case law, it is important to identify the existing international Agreements, which can replace the national Exequatur Framework because of their regulative speciality. An example is the judgement of the District Court of Augsburg, which recognised a Russian court judgement under the application of the international Agreement CMR / 1956 and replaced the Exequatur (German court decision of 09.07.2013, Nr. 081 O 3956/12).

With the ratification of the Hague Agreement 01.09.2023 the judgments of Ukraine and of the countries of the European Union are to be mutually recognised without the Exequatur. The first decisions on the recognition under the Hague Agreement will be important in the context of the international private and trade law.   

Other countries of the Hague Agreement are Costa Rica, Israel, Russia, Uruguay and USA, which have not ratificated the Agreement to the date. The national Exequatur Frameworks stay for them in force.

Recognition of the EU - civil judgements without Exequatur.

The judgements of the contries of the European Union are recognised in Germany without national Exequatur under the Brussels-Ia-Regulation, which is implemented by Sections 1110 ff. of the German Civil Litigation Code. The execution of the EU-judgements is to be effected in the German legal practice directly on the translated Executing Certificate of the EU-court of the judgement.  

Litigation case in the international private law. 

The place of disputes can be decisive for the economic results of the international civil and trade proceedings. For this reason, all risks of the international litigation process must be managed as early as possible. The national Exequatur can be efficient to execute a judgement at the national debtor's office from abroad. Otherwise, the Exequatur is affected substantially by the international case-law, which must be determened for each legal case by the expert opinion. The legal possibility and the advantage of litigation directly in Germany must be considered and proved by the legal experts.

The law firm FAITZER advices in all matters of the international civil and trade dispute resolution and in cases of the Exequatur. 

Author: Attorney Yana Krause 

Law Company FAITZER

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