Execution of court decisions in the European Union: entry into force of regulation UECOM / 2010/0748 (Fr)

The regulation has just come into force in France, two years after its publication in the official European journal.

This regulation, directly applicable in the French legal order since Saturday January 10, will allow litigants from a member country of the European Union to avail themselves of a court decision in another country of the Union without having recourse to an exequatur procedure in order to carry out the enforcement of the decision in the country where the law is invoked.

The execution of court decisions within the EU allows in particular a decision in civil or commercial matters, enforceable in a member state, to automatically obtain enforceability in any other EU country.

The new rules will also allow employees working in the EU to take legal action against an employer established in a third country before the courts of the Member State in which they usually work.

In addition, legal certainty for choice of court agreements between companies will be strengthened: previously, it was possible to circumvent choice of court agreements by bringing the dispute before the courts of another Member State (instead of designated court), so as to postpone the settlement of the dispute. These new rules thus put an end to these abusive maneuvers by guaranteeing the priority of the designated court, in the event of parallel proceedings.