Is a Judgment Issued Abroad Enforceable in Uruguay?

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This is the purpose of the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters, of 2019, and which Uruguay has just incorporated into national law through a recently enacted law (“Convention”).

With the adoption of the Convention, our country reaffirms its commitment to the development of a strong international community that promotes the rule of law.

As will be understood, the Convention aims to promote legal certainty in transnational legal relations, through the streamlining (and standardization) of procedures relating to the recognition and enforcement of judgments rendered by foreign courts. To this end, the Convention clearly distinguishes between the two sides of this procedure: the State whose courts render the judgement (State of origin or sending State), and the State in which the same judgment is sought (requested State or State of destination).

On the basis of this distinction, the Convention establishes that the judgment and its execution shall follow the rules of law of the requested State, whose time limits and other formal and procedural requirements must be complied with. And as for the requested State – which is entrusted with the execution of the sentence – a restriction is imposed: it will not be able to carry out a substantive study of the judgment, because that would involve a re-examination of the case (and that is not the objective of the Convention). That is to say that its role must be limited to the execution of the Judgment, subject of course to the natural guarantees that seek to ensure the parties a due defense in the trial. For example, the execution of the sentence must be refused outright where the requirements ensuring due process for the convicted person have not been observed in the State of origin.

In short, a successful law, which points in the right direction: to facilitate the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, as an indispensable legal tool for the fluidity of international trade.
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For any questions regarding this material, please contact Dr. Silvina Vila ([email protected])

and/or

Dr. Leonardo Melos ([email protected])

 

 

 

 

 

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