Authors
Authors
Following the UK’s signature and subsequent ratification of the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters 2019 (the Convention) in 2024, the Convention has entered into force within UK domestic law with effect from 1 July 2025.
Since Brexit[1], parties have been unable to rely on the Brussels Regulations or the Lugano Convention 2007 which allowed for the direct enforcement of civil judgments in EU Member States without the need to obtain a declaration of enforcement.
During this period, parties have looked to the 2005 Hague Convention which is more limited in that it only applies to agreements with exclusive jurisdictions clauses and excludes certain subject matters such as intellectual property and insurance. If this could not be used, parties were reliant on bi-lateral treaties or a countries’ national rules.
The Convention is far wider in scope that the 2005 Hague Convention and allows for the enforcement of more judgments in civil proceedings across borders in contracting states without the requirement for an exclusive jurisdiction clause.
Following the UK’s recent inclusion, the contracting states to the Convention currently are the UK, all EU member states (excluding Denmark), Uruguay and Ukraine.
Future considerations
The implementation of the Convention into the UK’s domestic law marks a significant shift towards the globalisation of civil law enforcement in the UK and streamlines the process for the reciprocal enforcement of civil judgments in the contracting states.
If a UK business trades across borders they should take note of these changes caused by the Convention and how, for any disputes that take place between contracting state jurisdictions, there are now more options which a party to a dispute can utilise to enforce judgements against other parties which are resident or contain assets in another contracting jurisdiction.
If you or your business has any concerns or questions relating to enforcement of a judgment here or internationally please contact Alice Daniels or Sara Chisholm-Batten in our Commercial & Regulatory Disputes team. Notably, Sara Chisholm-Batten was involved in the drafting of the 2019 Convention, bringing valuable expertise and insight to the Firm’s cross-border enforcement capabilities. She attended the negotiation of the 2019 Hague Convention (HCCH) on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters as an observer for the International Bar Association (IBA).
[1] The Recast Brussels regulation (Counsel Regulation (EU) 1215/2012) does not apply in the UK to any proceedings brought after 31 December 2020.