Oberster Gerichtshof, Urteil vom 15/03/2005 1Ob1/05m
Decision by national courts in the field of European Union law — ECLI:AT:OGH0002:2005:RS0119822
Date: 2005-03-15
Subject matter: Brussels Convention of 27 September 1968
Origin: Austria

82005AT0315(52)_ENG_SUMJURE
JURE SUMMARY
JURE SUMMARY
The plaintiff, a child born out of marriage, lives with its mother in Austria. The father, domiciled in Germany, undertook to pay child support in a certificate drawn up before the competent German Jugendamt in accordance with the amount defined in German regulations concerning child support payments for children born out of marriage. These regulations provide for contributions graded according to the age of the child. The amount of child support specified in the certificate was calculated according to the age of the child at the time when the document was drawn up. The father did not make the child support payments.
The plaintiff thus received child support payments from the Austrian authorities in lieu. The plaintiff applied for these payments to be increased to the next grade provided in the German regulations. The court of first instance dismissed the application. It held that the amount of child support payable by the father must be set anew in a judgment. The plaintiff lodged an appeal to the OGH (AT).
The OGH grants the appeal. It holds that the certificate is an authentic document in terms of Article 50(1) Brussels Convention. Therefore, a declaration of enforceability of the document is possible in Austria pursuant to Article 31(1). The recognition of the judgment in relation to child support is sufficient for the grant of child support in lieu of the obligated party in Austria.  As a basic principle, a foreign judgment is to be given the same legal effect as in the State of origin. A certain level of detail, albeit not the same as for domestic judgments, is required regarding the judgment. It must be possible to ascertain the amount due under a foreign judgment without ruling on the substance. This is the case when the child support is to be calculated according to the German regulations concerning child support payments. The court, therefore, orders the payment of child support corresponding to the German regulations.