Enforcement of civil and commercial judgments under the new Brussels Ia Regulation (Regulation 1215/2012)

I.C.C.L.R. 145 On January 10, 2015 the 2001 Brussels I Regulation, the foundation stone of the cross-border circulation of civil and commercial judgments in the EU, was succeeded by a "recast" Brussels Ia Regulation.1 The new Regulation includes new provisions and procedures concerning the cross-border recognition and enforcement of "civil and commercial" judgments, authentic instruments and court settlements.2 Anyone in receipt of a Brussels Ia judgment from a court in one EU Member State may then "enforce" that judgment in another EU Member State via reformed procedures that abolish the need for a judgment holder to first apply for exequatur —the permission of a foreign enforcement court to allow the enforcement of this judgment within its legal system. This abolition continues a general policy of reform that attempts to improve the free movement of judgments within the EU by simplifying procedures and lowering costs for the holder (or creditor) of such a judgment. This article sets out the new reformed procedures and options available to judgment creditor and judgment debtor when the enforcement of a Brussels Ia judgment is at issue.