Facts
Bank X. claims to be a creditor of Y. due to criminal acts committed by the latter between 1997 and 2005. The Civil Court of Lodi (Italy) ordered the seizure of the debtor's assets, and the Bank filed a substantive action in Italy on 15 February 2007.
On 13 November 2007, the Court of First Instance of Geneva ordered the seizure of all assets in the name of Y. or of which he is the beneficial owner, up to the amount of 173,105,779 Swiss francs, held at Bank Z. in Geneva. On 5 June 2008, the Bank filed a request for enforcement with a view to the exequatur of the Italian judgment that will be rendered against Y.
The Debt Collection Office of Geneva refused to follow up on this request, considering that it was premature as the Italian judgment had not yet been rendered. The Bank then filed a complaint against this refusal.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal upheld the Bank's appeal and instructed the Office to follow up on the request for enforcement.
According to the Federal Tribunal, Art. 279 para. 4 DEBA only prohibits the initiation of enforcement proceedings after the expiration of a ten-day period from the notification of the foreign judgment. But the creditor can nevertheless initiate enforcement proceedings without waiting for the…