Grounds for refusal of recognition of foreign judgment: developments and perspectives in EU Member States on public order and conflicting decisions

Regulation (EU) 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters supports extension of effects of EU decisions as a means to grant them identical scope within the whole European judicial space. Complete fulfilment of such task, however, is hindered by residual margins of sovereignty. Notwithstanding growing convergence between Member States’ legal systems and corresponding public order issues, in facts, conflicts may nevertheless survive due to limits of preventive procedural devices nested in rules governing lis pendens and related actions, differences in operation of res iudicata, variations of systems of recognition of non-EU judgments, and even hidden equitable considerations. A European federal judiciary with jurisdiction on the merits would be necessary to significantly enhance achievement of the aim of granting the winning party the same benefits in the whole Union.