Nejvyšší soud ČR; 2020-06-16; 20 Cdo 1152/2020
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:CZ:NS:2020:20.CDO.1152.2020.1
Date: 2020-06-16
Subject matter: Judicial cooperation in civil matters
Origin: Czechia

82020CZ0616(51)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE summary
JURE summary
This case regards a question of the recognition and enforcement of a foreign decision, which has proved to be not a decision on the substance of the dispute, but a decision recognising another judgment from a third country. The case was considered by the Nejvyšší soud (hereinafter ‘the Supreme Court’).
A company domiciled in the Czech Republic (hereinafter ‘the plaintiff’) applied before the Obvodní soud pro Prahu 4 (hereinafter ‘the Court of First Instance’) for the recognition and enforcement of a decision issued by the Bezirksgericht Floridsdorf, Austria. The Court of First Instance found that, by the decision in question, the Austrian court recognised and declared enforceable in Austria a judgment issued by the Fürstliches Landgericht, Liechtenstein. The Court of First instance held that Austrian decision, only recognising judgment from a third country, cannot be recognised in the Czech Republic. If the plaintiff seeks the enforcement of the original Liechtenstein judgment in several Member States of the European Union (Austria, Czech Republic), then the plaintiff must apply for the recognition of the Liechtenstein judgment separately in each Member State.
Following the plaintiff’s appeal, the Městský soud v Praze (hereinafter ‘the Court of Appeal’) confirmed the first instance judgment and added that the existence of certificate issued under Article 54 of the Brussels I Regulation (1) is only one of the requirements to recognise the judgment and cannot be itself understood as the only instrument sufficient for such recognition.
The plaintiff further filed a cassation appeal to the Supreme Court, alleging mainly that (a) the Czech courts are neither entitled to refuse recognition of decision issued by a court of other Member State (Austria), nor they are entitled to consider a certificate issued under Article 54 of the Brussels I Regulation, (b) that the case shall be referred to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) for a preliminary ruling and (c) the Czech courts should ascertain and take into account the provisions of Austrian law.
The Supreme Court confirmed its previous position that recognition and declaration of enforcement made by a court of another Member State of the European Union cannot be recognised and declared enforceable in the territory of the Czech Republic because the effects of the enforcement decision issued in one Member State cannot be extended to the territory of another Member State. If the plaintiff wishes to enforce the Liechtenstein judgment in more than one Member State, it must apply for a declaration of enforceability in each of them, as the declaration of enforceability is limited to the territory of the Member State in which it took place.
In the present case, the Austrian court recognised the Liechtenstein judgment on the basis of an international agreement between Austria and Liechtenstein on the mutual recognition of judgments. However, the Czech Republic does not have such an agreement with Liechtenstein, therefore the recognition of the Liechtenstein judgment in the Czech Republic would be governed by national law and it may lead to different conclusions as those which were made by the Austrian court. Therefore, automatic recognition of the declaration of enforceability made by the Austrian court may also lead to a restriction of the defendant’s right to justice.
There is no need to thoroughly study the Austrian national law since the wording of the Austrian decision itself is clear enough by stating that ‘the (Liechtenstein) judgment is declared enforceable in Austria’. This principle is also supported by the case-law of the CJEU, so there is no need to refer a question to the CJEU within a preliminary ruling.
The Supreme Court dismissed the cassation appeal and upheld the conclusions of the lower courts.
(1) Council Regulation (EC) No 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters.