Recognition and Enforcement of an English Judgment in Switzerland after Brexit

Facts

This case concerns the recognition and enforcement in Switzerland of a judgment rendered by the High Court of Justice of England and Wales on October 17, 2019. The applicants (B. PLC, C. JSC, D. LLP and E. LLP) requested the Justice of the Peace of the District of Aigle to order the sequestration of various assets and bank accounts belonging to [A.], based on this English judgment.

The Justice of the Peace granted this request for sequestration on December 3, 2019. [A.] filed an objection to this sequestration, but it was rejected by the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Court of the Cantonal Tribunal of the Canton of Vaud on July 24, 2020.

[A.] then appealed this decision to the Federal Tribunal, raising in particular the issue of the applicability of the Lugano Convention or the Federal Act on Private International Law (PILA) to the proceedings, given Brexit.

Considerations

The Federal Tribunal first examined whether the Lugano Convention still applied in the context of this case, or whether PILA should now apply since January 1, 2021.

It considered that, although the United Kingdom left the European Union on January 31, 2020, it remained bound by the Lugano Convention until the end of the transition period, on December 31, 2020. Therefore, the ongoing proceedings, which began before that date, continue to be governed by the Lugano Convention.

The Federal Tribunal then examined the issue of the competence of the sequestration judge to rule on the exequatur of the English judgment. It held that…