Consultation outcome

Annex C: Article 7

Updated 23 November 2023

This was published under the 2022 to 2024 Sunak Conservative government

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Article 7 : Refusal of recognition and enforcement

  1. Recognition or enforcement may be refused if –

(a) the document which instituted the proceedings or an equivalent document, including a statement of the essential elements of the claim –

(i) was not notified to the defendant in sufficient time and in such a way as to enable them to arrange for their defence, unless the defendant entered an appearance and presented their case without contesting notification in the court of origin, provided that the law of the State of origin permitted notification to be contested; or

(ii) was notified to the defendant in the requested State in a manner that is incompatible with fundamental principles of the requested State concerning service of documents;

(b) the judgment was obtained by fraud;

(c) recognition or enforcement would be manifestly incompatible with the public policy of the requested State, including situations where the specific proceedings leading to the judgment were incompatible with fundamental principles of procedural fairness of that State and situations involving infringements of security or sovereignty of that State;

(d) the proceedings in the court of origin were contrary to an agreement, or a designation in a trust instrument, under which the dispute in question was to be determined in a court of a State other than the State of origin;

(e) the judgment is inconsistent with a judgment given by a court of the requested State in a dispute between the same parties; or

(f) the judgment is inconsistent with an earlier judgment given by a court of another State between the same parties on the same subject matter, provided that the earlier judgment fulfils the conditions necessary for its recognition in the requested State.

2.Recognition or enforcement may be postponed or refused if proceedings between the same parties on the same subject matter are pending before a court of the requested State, where –

(a) the court of the requested State was seised before the court of origin; and

(b) there is a close connection between the dispute and the requested State.

A refusal under this paragraph does not prevent a subsequent application for recognition or enforcement of the judgment.

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