Originally from Enforcement of Money Judgments

I.  PRESENT ATTITUDE TOWARD ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN MONEY JUDGMENTS

A. Describe the receptiveness of your government (including courts) toward enforcement of foreign money judgments.

Generally, foreign judgments will be enforced in the Czech Republic if they, in accordance with Czech law, can be deemed equivalent to the domestic judgment (i.e., only if they can be recognized). The main distinction is whether (1) the Judgments come from Countries covered by the Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 (Brussels 1bis Regulation)), (2) if there is an existing bilateral agreement between the Czech Republic and other country and (3) other cases.

The Czech Republic entered in to bilateral agreements with various countries ruling herewith mutual recognition of domestic and foreign judgments. Such agreements make it possible to recognize judgments in cases listed in the respective agreements. For example, a bilateral agreement entered into with Vietnam April 27, 1984 allows judgments in civil matters or matters in regard to compensation of damages granted within criminal court proceedings to be automatically recognized. More on bilateral treaties is found in section II.A.1(ii).

For other cases, The Czech Code of Civil Procedure contains no special provisions regarding the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. Act No. 91/2012 Coll., the Private International Law and Procedural Act (hereinafter “MPSaP”) is the legal basis for recognizing and enforcing foreign judgments. Sections 14 et seq. of this law govern the requirements for recognition and enforcement of money judgments. The requirements for recognition and enforcement are set forth in Section 14, and the foreign judgments are incorporated into the domestic legal system and enforced pursuant to Section 257 et seq. of the Code of Civil Procedure. The recognition procedure is not an independent procedure and is also not a trial on the merits. The requirements for recognition are examined incident to and concurrently with the petition seeking an order of enforcement.

Section 15 (f) of the MPSaP makes recognition dependent on the guarantee of reciprocity provided by the state where the judgment was made. The requirements are either an international treaty governing recognition or a bilateral international agreement of the statement of the Czech Ministry of Justice that reciprocity exists towards a foreign state. Section 2 of the MPSaP provides that international treaties will have priority.