Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Titles in Luxembourg

In Luxembourg, creditors can obtain various types of information on debtors during recognition and enforcement proceedings.

Corporate information (if the debtor is a company) 

Creditors can order a business excerpt in relation to the Company from the Luxembourg Business Register “LBR” (Registre de commerce et des sociétés de Luxembourg: https://www.lbr.lu/). The business excerpt may provide essential information about the debtor as for amongst other the company name, the registered address, the name of the directors, the share capital, and other mandatory filings.

The business excerpt also indicates whether the entity is subject to insolvency proceedings.

The LBR also allows the free consultation of the deed of incorporation, the articles of association and of the latest published annual accounts. The annual accounts can help assess the financial stability of the company at the time they were published.

Real estate and secured assets

The creditor can access a registry to verify ownership of real estate and related mortgages or privileges, through the Land Registry (Administration du cadastre et de la topographie).

Bank account information

There is no publicly available information in Luxembourg.

Employer or third-party debtor information

For a physical person, during the enforcement proceedings, it is possible to access the debtor’s updated address and place of employment with the Social Security Centre.

Vehicle ownership

During enforcement proceedings a bailiff can contact the National Society of Automotive Traffic (SNCA) which will provide information on the vehicles the debtor (physical or corporate entity) owns.

EU judgments (Brussels I Recast)

Under Regulation (EU) 1215/2012, EU judgments are enforceable in Luxembourg without prior exequatur. The creditor may directly apply for enforcement steps in front of the competent jurisdiction.

Interim measures

Interim measures or conservatory measures (saisies conservatoires) can be obtained without recognition, even for non-EU judgments, provided the creditor shows:

• fumus boni juris (prima facie claim)
• periculum in mora (risk of non-recovery)

A special ex parte procedure can be followed to obtain the right to freeze the debtor’s assets. Depending on the specific conditions of the case, the freezing order can be obtained before the foreign judgment is recognised. 

Non-EU judgments

Yes. A prior exequatur is required before enforcement may proceed. However, conservatory measures may be performed prior to the exequatur.

Since the abolition of exequatur under Regulation (EU) 1215/2012 (Brussels I Recast) an EU judgment is automatically recognized if the following conditions are met:

•  the judgment must fall within the scope of the Regulation,
• it must be enforceable in the Member State of origin,
• it must not fall under explicit exclusions (i.e., insolvency, arbitration).

Under Luxembourg law, the creditor must first provide (i) a copy of the judgment and (ii) the standard certificate using Annex I (Art. 53). Secondly, these documents may be presented directly to the Luxembourg bailiff or enforcement judge. Finally, enforcement proceeds unless the debtor applies for refusal.

There is no separate recognition procedure.

A non-EU judgment may be recognized if:

•  the foreign court had jurisdiction under Luxembourg standards,
• the debtor was properly served and their right to defend themselves was respected,
• the judgment does not violate Luxembourg public policy (ordre public),
• the decision is final and enforceable in the state of origin,
• no fraud affected the foreign proceedings.

The following process must be observed:

• a Luxembourg lawyer must file a request for exequatur before the District Court (Tribunal d’arrondissement),
• the proceedings are adversarial and the debtor may file a recourse,
• if the exequatur is granted, the judgment becomes enforceable as a domestic title,
• the enforcement may further be carried out by a bailiff.

Whether or not the defendant appears in court is the deciding factor. If the recognition process is contradictory, the defendant may raise some defences.

In that case, the initial procedure should take between 6 and 18 months. This would be prolonged by around 12-15 months should an appeal be filed, whether against the recognition decision or the refusal to recognise the foreign decision.

There are no court related costs in Luxembourg for the recognition of a foreign decision.

The lawyer fees will vary depending upon if the exequatur proceeding is contested or not, the number of submissions before the competent Court.

The costs of translations (if required) and bailiff are variable upon the length or the decision to recognise.

Under Luxembourg law and Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012, the grounds to refuse recognition/enforcement are limited.

The recognition of an EU judgment may be challenged on the following key grounds:

• lack of proper service, i.e. if the defendant was not served in accordance with the Regulation’s requirements, especially for default judgments,
• violation of public policy (ordre public): if enforcing the judgment would fundamentally conflict with Luxembourg fundamental legal principles,
• irreconcilability, i.e. if there is an earlier Luxembourg judgment (or another EU judgment recognized in Luxembourg) between the same parties on the same cause of action,
• exclusive jurisdiction, i.e. if the foreign court lacked jurisdiction under a clause of exclusive jurisdiction recognized by the Regulation.

It should be noted that, importantly, Luxembourg courts do not re-examine the merits of the EU judgment; the review is limited to formal and procedural compliance.

For non-EU judgments under Luxembourg’s exequatur regime, the court may refuse recognition on several grounds:

• public policy (ordre public): if the foreign judgment’s content or the enforcement would violate Luxembourg’s fundamental legal principles,
• lack of enforceability in the country of origin: the judgment must have the status of enforceable decision in its origin jurisdiction,
• procedural due process deficiencies: if the defendant was denied fair notice or an opportunity to present its case,
• lack of jurisdiction: if the foreign court that rendered the judgment did not have a legally acceptable jurisdiction under Luxembourg conflict-of-law rules,
• irreconcilability: if there is already a Luxembourg judgment (or other recognized foreign judgment) on the same matter between the same parties,
• fraud or serious procedural irregularities: if there is evidence that the judgment was obtained by fraud or by a fundamentally flawed process. 

There is no specific limitation period under Luxembourg procedural law for filing an exequatur application (i.e., no “deadline” in the Luxembourg code of civil procedure for recognition per se).

However, practical limitations may arise because:

• the foreign judgment must still be enforceable in its State of origin, i.e. if that State’s limitation period has expired, enforcement may fail in origin, which undermines the basis for exequatur,
• delay could make it more difficult to locate assets or evidence, or to justify interim measures, but delay alone is not a formal bar.

If there is no time limit for having a foreign judgment recognized, however under luxembourg law, there is a time limit to enforce a decision.

If the debtor did not appear before Court, the creditor has 6 months to enforce the decision serve the decision.

Otherwise, the debtor has 30 years to enforce a contradictory decision, or 10 years if the decision was made in a commercial matter.

The legal costs of the recognition proceedings will not be granted in their entirety.

Certain costs can potentially be “recovered” or added to the creditor’s claim: the court may award a procedural indemnity to the successful party to cover parts of the procedural costs (the “frais et dépens” such as bailiff’s costs,), and the legal costs.

Whether and to what extent legal (attorney) fees are recoverable depends on the case, the court, and the parties’ pleadings. However, it has to be noted that the losing party will not bear the costs of the winning party.

Once a foreign judgment is recognised in Luxembourg (or exequatur is granted), the following enforcement measures are available:

• attachment of movable assets: a bailiff can seize the debtor’s movable property,
• attachment (saisie-arrêt): the creditor can attach bank accounts, receivables, or other financial claims against third parties,
• attachment of immovable property: if the debtor owns real estate in Luxembourg, a seizure and eventual forced sale may be possible,
• public sale (auction): seized assets can be sold at auction to satisfy the judgment,
• conservatory measures: even after recognition, the creditor can apply for preservation or provisional measures (if not already done) to secure assets while enforcement continues.

Once insolvency proceedings are opened in Luxembourg, individual enforcement actions are immediately stayed. This applies equally to domestic and foreign judgments. 

Automatic stay of individual enforcement

Under the Luxembourg Commercial Code and the applicable insolvency laws, the opening of insolvency proceedings results in:

• a general suspension of all individual enforcement measures, including attachments already initiated but not yet completed,
• a prohibition on initiating new enforcement actions,
• a prohibition on continuing pending enforcement proceedings.

This applies regardless of whether the foreign judgment has already been recognized (exequatur) or not. In certain conditions the attachment of bank accounts may be lifted.

Recognition of the foreign judgment can still proceed

Luxembourg courts may still process an exequatur application during insolvency, because recognition does not constitute an enforcement act, it simply determines whether the foreign judgment could produce effects in Luxembourg.

However, even if an exequatur is granted, the creditor cannot proceed with enforcement: the stay remains fully effective.

Creditor must file its claim with the insolvency estate

Once insolvency is opened, the creditor must file a proof of claim (déclaration de créance) with the court and attach the foreign judgment and the exequatur (if already granted).

If the exequatur has not yet been granted, the creditor can file its claim provisionally, pending recognition. Once the exequatur is granted, the claim may be definitively filed.

EU insolvency rules

If the debtor is subject to proceedings in another EU Member State, Regulation (EU) 2015/848 on Insolvency Proceedings applies.

This means that:

• The main proceeding opened in the Member State of the debtor’s COMI is automatically recognised in Luxembourg,
• The stay of individual enforcement applies across all Member States.

Arbitration awards

The same principles apply: (i) the recognition of an arbitral award is possible during insolvency, and (ii) enforcement remains stayed until the insolvency process ends.

Luxembourg is a signatory to the New York Convention (1958) on the recognition and enforcement of foreign arbitral awards. 

To obtain recognition (exequatur) of an arbitral award, the creditor must demonstrate the following conditions are met:

• a valid arbitration agreement existed,
• the award is final (or has the status required under the Convention / law),
• no violation of Luxembourg public policy,
• no serious procedural irregularities (i.e., lack of due process, improper constitution of tribunal, excess of powers).

The process to follow is the following

• a Luxembourg lawyer must file an ex-parte application with the President of the relevant District Court,
• the application must submit the original award, the arbitration agreement, and a certified translation into an official Luxembourg language if needed,
• the court examines whether the award meets the formal requirements,
• if granted, the court issues an enforcement order (exequatur),
• the award may be challenged by the other party within a limited time window (appeal), on grounds allowed by the Convention / Luxembourg law (i.e., violation of due process, fraud).

Once exequatur is granted, enforcement measures, such as those for foreign judgments, apply, as mentioned above.