Harju Maakohus; 2016-06-20; 2-16-5991/2
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:EE:HMK:2016:2.16.5991.7013
Date: 2016-06-20
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters;Lugano Convention
Origin: Estonia

82016EE0620(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
There was a dispute between two companies which was resolved by the Norwegian courts (there was a judgment at first instance, appellate instance and by the Norwegian Supreme Court also).
The successful party in the dispute (hereinafter ‘the plaintiff’) applied before the Harju Maakohus (hereinafter ‘the Court of First Instance’) for the recognition and enforcement of the judgments of the Norwegian Court of Appeal and Norwegian Supreme Court (which both confirmed the Norwegian first instance conclusion and ordered the losing party to pay the costs of the proceedings).
The Court of First Instance examined the application and confirmed its compliance with all requirements laid by TsMS (1). Since the application regarded judgments delivered in Norway, the Court of First Instance assessed the application against the new Lugano Convention. Pursuant to Article 33(1) of the new Lugano Convention (2), ‘a judgment given in a State bound by this Convention shall be recognised in the other States bound by this Convention without any special procedure being required’. Article 41 of the Convention further provides that ‘the judgment shall be declared enforceable immediately on completion of the formalities in Article 53 without any review under Articles 34 and 35. The party against whom enforcement is sought shall not at this stage of the proceedings be entitled to make any submissions on the application’. The Court of First Instance confirmed that the plaintiff successfully satisfied all conditions and formalities required by the new Lugano Convention.
Therefore, the Court of First Instance granted the application, recognized the requested Norwegian judgments and declared them enforceable in Estonia.
(1) Tsiviilkohtumenetluse seadustik (Code of Civil Procedure).
(2) Convention on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.