EXEQUATOR (EXEQUATUR)

Exequator is a procedure regarding the recognition of foreign judgments in Romania by court order.
It is a judicial procedure in which, after the control of the Romanian law court over the foreign decisions pronounced by the law courts on the territory in which the enforcement is requested.
If a judgment given by a foreign law court is not enforced willingly, the judicial enforcement by exequator procedure will be used, settled in Romanian law by 105/1992 Law regarding the international private law reports.
In this normative act, the foreign decision concept is used lato sensu, including, on one hand the the court orders pronounced by the competent jurisdictions from other states, and the other hand also the notarial acts or jurisdiction acts released by any other authorities with jurisdictional activity in those states as international settlement sentences or transactions concluded between parties.
To benefit from res judicata in Romania, several conditions must be met as follows:
– the decision whose recognition is required must be irrevocable in the state where it was pronounced;
– the court that pronounced the decision must have been competent to judge that case;
– the existence of reciprocity regarding the effects of foreign decisions in Romania and the state where it was pronounced.
There are some cases when the foreign decisions cannot be recognized by the Romanian courts of law under article 168 from 105/1992 Law, as follows:
– the decision is the result of fraud committed in the procedure followed abroad;
– the decision violates public policy by Romanian private international law;
– the law suit was settled by the Romanian courts, between the same parties through a decision, even a non-final decision, or the case is pending at the time of introduction at the foreign law court.
The application for obtaining the exequator is introduced by the interested party.
The solicitation regarding the recognition of a foreign decision, together with the documents provided by law, accompanied by the supralegalizated certified translations are submitted at the law court from the jurisdiction where the person who has refused the recognition of the foreign decision has his residence or headquarters, where the enforcement is going to be done.
The application is resolved either primary or indirectly by the law court who was summoned with a lawsuit having another object, within which is being raised res judicata exception, based on the foreign decision.
The Romanian court must verify the fulfillment of all recognition and refusal conditions, but cannot proceed to examine the substance of the foreign decision nor to its modification.
The solicitation is admitted by decision, after summoning the parties, according to article 176 of 105/1992 Law.
The application for declaration of enforceability shall be accompanied by the proof of the enforceability of the decision  issued by the law court which rendered it (article 175). Based on the irrevocable decision of admitting the enforcement will be issued the writ of execution under Romanian law, the decision on admission being mentioned in the consent decision. https://www.lawyer-in-romania.com/