It sometimes happens that the opposing party shows no reaction, or simply refuses to comply voluntarily.
How to Proceed
Armed with your enforceable title, or your final court decision, you may entrust your case to a bailiff, who is solely competent to implement the enforcement measures provided by law.
Among the enforcement measures that can be implemented to compel your opponent to comply, the bailiff can:
Seize the movable property, the vehicle of a recalcitrant debtor, or effect a garnishment from third parties.
The law also grants the bailiff the monopoly on the enforcement measures necessary for the eviction of your tenant occupying without right or title.
He may implement protective measures designed to secure your claim.
Special Case: Enforcement in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg of Decisions Rendered Abroad
When it concerns a judgment that must be enforced in the national territory where it was rendered, the matter is simple, because said judgment falls under national law.
Enforcement of a Foreign Judgment
The matter becomes more complicated when it concerns the enforcement of a foreign judgment.
In this context, the Member States have harmonized the exequatur procedure through the Brussels Convention of September 27, 1968, and Community Regulation 44/2001 of December 22, 2000, which has applied since March 1, 2002, to all actions initiated from that date, with the exception of those relating to Denmark, to which the Brussels Convention 1968 still applies.
Through the exequatur procedure, in Europe, the applicant obtains a decision that renders a foreign judgment or act enforceable in the national territory.
This procedure comprises a single step, that of filing an application which must be submitted to the competent court in the State of the party against whom judgment was rendered.
Once the application is granted, the foreign decision can be enforced.
It should also be noted that Regulation 805/2004 of April 21, 2004, provides for the abolition of exequatur for court decisions relating to undisputed claims.
This regulation provides for the issuance of a standardized European enforcement order certificate, which means that a decision rendered in one Member State is recognized and enforced in other Member States, without an exequatur procedure being necessary.
In the case of an undisputed claim, the applicant has the choice between benefiting from the new provisions or proceeding in the traditional manner with the exequatur of the decision rendered in their favor.
When the appeal was lodged after January 10, 2015, Regulation 1215/2015 of December 12, 2012, is applicable. In this case, any interested person may request the court of origin to issue a certificate. This must be served, but its enforcement can subsequently be proceeded with directly, without an exequatur procedure.
