Navigating international disputes: enforcing Spanish judgments in England and Wales

This article was originally published on 24 March 2022, and has since been updated to reflect the latest legal changes.

For proceedings issued on or after 1 January 2021, Spanish judgments can be enforced in England and Wales under three possible regimes:

1. the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements 2005;
2. the Hague Judgments Convention 2019 (in force for the UK from 1 July 2025); and
3. English common law.

The Hague Judgments Convention is much wider in scope than the Hague Choice of Court Convention. It applies to judgments where the Spanish court had jurisdiction over the dispute in different ways, including, for example, the defendant’s habitual residence in Spain. The Hague Choice of Court Convention, by contrast, only applies to proceedings issued pursuant to an exclusive jurisdiction agreement. Both conventions are limited in time, with the Hague Judgments Convention only applying to proceedings issued after 1 July 2025. Judgments that fall outside both Hague Conventions are enforced under common law.

For proceedings issued before 1 January 2021, the Recast Brussels Regulation (1215/2012)  may still apply in limited transitional circumstances. Because those situations are now rare, this article focuses on proceedings issued after 1 January 2021.

Enforcement under the Hague Choice of Court Convention 2005  

Requirements for enforcement

For proceedings instituted after 1 January 2021, the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements will apply:

1. where there is an exclusive Spanish jurisdiction agreement between the parties;
2. to civil and commercial matters (but excluding, for instance: family law, wills and succession, insolvency, arbitration, consumer law, employment, some insurance matters, many intellectual property matters, rights in rem in land, and company law matters);
3. to judgments on the merits (final judgments, default judgments, non-monetary awards, but not interim measures or procedural awards).

Defences to enforcement under the Hague Choice of Court Convention

Article 9 sets out various circumstances in which recognition or enforcement may be refused, including where:

1. the agreement was null and void under the law of the Spanish court;
2. the defendant was given insufficient notice of the original proceedings;
3. the judgment was obtained by fraud. This is a rare occurrence;
4. the judgment is contrary to English public policy;
5. the judgment is inconsistent with another judgment between the same parties, or with an earlier judgment in a third country.

Method of enforcement

Where the Hague Choice of Court Convention applies, the creditor must apply to the English court for registration of the judgment without giving notice to the debtor. Under Article 13, the judgment creditor must provide the court with:

• a certified copy of the judgment;
• a copy of the exclusive jurisdiction agreement;
• in the case of a default judgment, a document proving that the defaulting party was notified of the document which instituted the proceedings;
• any documents necessary to establish that the judgment has effect or is enforceable in Spain or to verify that the conditions for enforcement have been met; and
• English translations of all of the above.

The judgment debtor can appeal the registration of the judgment if there are grounds under Article 9 of the Hague Choice of Court Convention.

Enforcement under the Hague Judgments Convention 2019

For proceedings instituted after 1 July 2025, the Hague Judgments Convention will apply:

1. where the Spanish judgment satisfies at least one jurisdictional base (Article 5). There are 13 bases in the convention. The key bases include:
2. where the defendant was habitually resident in Spain at the time proceedings were commenced (Article 5(a));
3. where the parties agree to the jurisdiction of the Spanish courts. However, this does not apply to exclusive jurisdiction clauses (which fall within the scope of the Hague Choice of Court Convention) (Article 5(m));
4. where a Spanish court rules on a contractual obligation and the place of performance of that obligation was Spain (Article 5(g));
5. where the damage (in a tort claim) was caused in Spain (Article 5(j));
6. to civil and commercial matters including money and non-money judgments (excluding interim measures). Exceptions include family law matters; wills and succession; insolvency; defamation; privacy; intellectual property; certain competition matters; and arbitration. It does not extend to revenue, customs or administrative matters;
7. to judgments on the merits (final judgments, default judgments, non-monetary awards, but not interim measures or procedural awards).

Defences to enforcement under the Hague Judgments Convention

Article 7 sets out the circumstances in which recognition or enforcement may be refused, including where:

1. the defendant was given insufficient notice of the original proceedings;
2. the judgment was obtained by fraud. This is a rare occurrence;
3. the judgment is contrary to English public policy;
4. the proceedings were issued in breach of a jurisdiction agreement;
5. the judgment is inconsistent with another judgment between the same parties, or with an earlier judgment in a third country.

Method of enforcement

Where the Hague Judgments Convention applies, the creditor must apply to the English court for registration of the judgment without giving notice to the debtor. Under Article 12, the judgment creditor must provide the court with:

• a certified copy of the judgment;
• in the case of a default judgment, a document proving that the defaulting party was notified of the document which instituted the proceedings;
• any documents necessary to establish that the judgment has effect or is enforceable in Spain; and
• English translations of all of the above.

Once the procedure is completed, the court must register the judgment ‘without delay’, and if it meets the relevant criteria, the judgment will be registered without any review of whether grounds to refuse registration exist. The applicant’s reasonable costs or expenses of registration are recoverable and, once registered, the judgment is ‘recognised’ and can be enforced in the same way as a judgment granted by the High Court.

The process is intended to be quick and efficient with minimal grounds to resist enforcement. The debtor (against whom enforcement is sought) cannot make submissions on registration. Instead, they can apply to set the registration aside.

Enforcement in England under common law rules

Where the Hague Conventions do not apply, enforcement will be under the common law rules.

Requirements of enforcement

For the common law regime to apply, the following must be satisfied:

1. the judgment must be final and conclusive (injunctions and interim measures are not enforceable);
2. the judgment must be for a debt or definite sum of money;
3. the foreign court must have had jurisdiction on a territorial or consensual basis (ie the defendant was present in Spain at the time the proceedings were instituted or otherwise submitted to the jurisdiction of the Spanish court eg by making an appearance in the proceedings);
4. the judgment must not have been obtained by fraud;
5. the judgment must not be contrary to English public policy (eg some damages awards expressed as a penalty can infringe English public policy and render the judgment unenforceable);
6. the judgment must not be contrary to the rules of natural justice (eg not having a proper opportunity to defend the claim).

If the six conditions above are not met, the judgment is not enforceable in England.

Method of enforcement

Where the above conditions are met, the enforcing party will need to:

• issue a new claim in England to enforce the judgment;
• apply for summary judgment to expedite enforcement; and
• where relevant, seek permission from the English court to serve proceedings on the foreign debtor.

Enforcement can be defended if one of the six criteria above are not met.

Conclusion

The Hague Conventions are likely to be used increasingly to enforce Spanish judgments. For judgments falling outside of their scope, the common law rules will continue to apply. This method of enforcement can, however, be more difficult and costly than the registration regimes permitted under the Hague Conventions.

As the Hague Judgments Convention only recently came into force for the UK, it remains to be seen how the court will approach challenges to enforcement and interpret the jurisdictional bases. For more information, see the article here. For now, parties seeking to enforce a Spanish judgment in England would be well advised to seek local advice at an early stage.