Do you have a debt with an individual who owns property or assets in Spain? The European Regulation – Reglamento (CE) 44/2001 del Consejo, de 22 de diciembre de 2000 – allows judgements and orders from other European courts to be recognized and executed in the Spanish jurisdiction. For example, where there is a European judgement in favour of a creditor from the UK, Holland, Ireland or any other European country, this can be executed in Spain against Spanish assets such as property, cars, bank accounts etc.
The proceeding is commenced in the Court of First Instance in the place where the debtor lives.
The petition for recognition and execution is entered together with :
- The original judgement or order with a translation in Spanish
- A certificate of European Enforcement which has been issued by the court where the order was given.
- A valid Spanish form Power of attorney
It should not be necessary to obtain legalisation with the Apostille as this is not a pre-requisite although some documents from the UK do still require legalisation.
The court is not obliged to enquire as to the content of the judgement or have any form of re-hearing of the claim. Once satisfied that the request is made in the correct administrative form the court will notify the parties and at this stage the parties can appeal if they wish to contest the execution.
Preventive measures such as embargoes and injunctions can be asked for as part of the proceedings allowed under the regulation. This means that an application can be made directly to a Land Registry to prevent a property being sold or transferred. Subsequently an auction can be held to obtain payment from the proceeds.
For more information contact De Cotta Law on 952 527014 or email [email protected]