Originally from Enforcement of Money Judgments

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I. CURRENT LEGAL FRAMEWORK FOR ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN MONEY ADJUDICATIONS (JUDGMENTS)

After the independence of Latvia was restored in 1991, Saeima, the Latvian Parliament, and the Latvian Government have been working on establishing a legal framework to facilitate the integration of Latvia into international community. On 1 May 2004 Latvia, together with nine other countries – Estonia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovenia, Malta and Cyprus – became a full-fledged member of the European Union. National laws were adapted to EU requirement and correspond to the European standards. 

The enforcement of foreign adjudications is regulated by the Latvian Civil Procedure Law, EU Regulations, and international agreements binding upon the Republic of Latvia.

The Civil Procedure Law, adopted in 1998 and being effective as from March 1 1999, contains the main procedural provisions as to the recognition and enforcement of foreign adjudications. Amendments to the Civil Procedure Law (in force from May 1, 2004) which entirely changed part F – namely, “recognition and execution of foreign court adjudications” were followed by further amendments (in force from October 11, 2006) to Latvian Civil Procedure Law. According to the amendments to Latvian Civil Procedure Law, an adjudication of a foreign court within the meaning of the Part 77 of Latvian Civil Procedure Law, is a judgment made by a foreign court, in which the issue of dispute between the parties has been adjudicated according to substance, as well as an approved amicable settlement of a foreign court. The amendments further provide, that an adjudication of a foreign court within the meaning of Part 77 of Latvian Civil Procedure Law is also an adjudication of a foreign competent institution, which is to be executed in the state that made it if the recognition of the adjudication and execution arises from directly applicable European Union legal norms or international agreements binding upon the Republic of Latvia. Latest amendments to Part 77 of Latvian Civil Procedure Law have come into force on May 26, 2015, July 2, 2015, August 17, 2015, and December 3, 2015.