Nejvyšší soud, usnesení ze dne 18/11/2009 20 Cdo 4032/2007 Ing Ch.S. and M.Š
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:CZ:NS:2009:20.CDO.4032.2007.1
Date: 2009-11-18
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Czechia

82009CZ1118(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE SUMMARY
JURE SUMMARY
The judgment creditor applied for a declaration of enforceability on a default judgment issued on 08.03.2004 by the Bezirksgericht of Zell am Ziller (AT) and sought an order from the Okresní soud of Přerově (CZ) for execution against the debtor’s property. The court applied its national law on the basis that the Brussels I Regulation did not apply, as the judgment to be enforced was issued before 01.05.2004. It concluded that due to a lack of reciprocity, execution could not be ordered against the property of the debtor and dismissed the motion. On appeal, the Krajský soud of Ostravě (CZ) confirmed that decision. The creditor filed a further appeal, arguing that the application had been filed with the first instance court on 14.02 2005, this date being decisive for the application of the Brussels I Regulation. The judgment creditor also argued that the motion filed with the Austrian court was filed when the Brussels I Regulation was already in force there.
The Nejvyšší soud (CZ) dismisses the appeal, stating that based on settled judicial practice and legal theory, for a decision to be recognised pursuant to the Brussels I Regulation, it must be issued after the entry into force of that Regulation in the Czech Republic (i.e., after 01.05.2004). Decisions issued before that date are not subject to this Regulation, and their recognition falls to be decided according to the previous international conventions (mentioned in Article 69 of the Brussels I Regulation) or to national law. An argument that it is sufficient if the decision was issued after the Brussels I Regulation had entered into force in the country of origin, but not in the Czech Republic, cannot be accepted, as that would lead to an unacceptable retroactive effect of the Brussels I Regulation. The Nejvyšší soud states further that its conclusions are unaffected by the fact that the motion had been filed with the Austrian court after the entry into force of the Brussels I Regulation in Austria.