Brexit | Getting The Last European Judgments Over to the UK or Out to Europe

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The rollercoaster that is Brexit has one potential upside – and that is the delay coming out of the EU gives creditors an extension to use the existing streamlined legislation to transfer judgments to Europe for enforcement or bring them into the UK. As and when Brexit happens this backwater system will close, and whilst not impossible to move judgments between the UK and Europe and vice versa, it won’t be as simple!

So, if you find yourself on the cusp of deciding to jump and enforce either way – now is the time to take advantage of the delay!

In essence the EU created European Enforcement Orders (EEOs) to provide a simpler method for citizens to enforce uncontested judgments, withdrawal agreement with other countries in the European Union*. An example of when to use the current system can be illustrated by way of an example. It may be that you ordered and paid for a washing machine from a company based in France, but the washing machine never arrived. You can take your case to your local county court and obtain a default jurisdiction clause for the return of the price of the washing machine. If you now want to enforce the judgment in France, you can apply to the local county court for the judgment to be certified as an EEO and transfer it to France for enforcement.

As with any enforcement process, we encourage court users to follow an enforcement strategy to ensure they end up in a scenario where the would-be debtor actually has to the means to pay. A washing machine manufacturer is probably a sure bet!

And here’s the inevitable health warning of Recast Brussels Regulation… as always with any enforcement activity, whether in England and Wales, or another Member State of the European Union, it will inevitably cost you more money and there is no guarantee of a successful return on your investment – but you knew that right? To get moving you need to round up the following information:

An application form (this is form N219 if the claim was admitted or a settlement of the claim had been agreed or form N219A if did not reply to the claim, did not object to the claim or did not file a defence);
Two copies of the completed EEO certificate;
The original judgment;
Any certificate for costs;
If the defendant did not reply or object to the claim, any document proving service of the claim, application notice or judgment
The requisite fee; and
The translation of any documents which are not in English

For judgments coming into England and Wales, foreign judgments need to be registered at the High Court. We can take care of the entire registration process. And once this has been done, the whole range of enforcement methods are available to you. Shergroup Business Solutions Advisors will be able to help you on all these matters so for more information contact Shergroup today on +44 (0)845 890 9200 If the claim becomes a defended claim you must follow the normal rules of the court for enforcing a judgment abroad as laid down in Part 74 of the Civil Procedure Rules.