Conditions for the recognition and enforcement of a foreign court judgment in the Republic of Serbia

A foreign court judgment takes legal effect in the Republic of Serbia after the recognition procedure has been completed by the competent authorities of the Republic of Serbia. The procedure for the recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments shall be conducted in accordance with:

• a bilateral treaty, where the procedural rules are contained in treaties on international legal assistance;
• a multilateral treaty, where maintenance matters are concerned, in accordance with the United Nations Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance (Decree on the Ratification of the Final Act of the United Nations Conference on Maintenance Obligations and the Convention on the Recovery Abroad of Maintenance Claims – “Official Gazette of the FPRY – International Treaties and Other Agreements”, No. 2/60), and where parental rights are concerned, in accordance with the Council of Europe Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions concerning Custody of Children and on the Restoration of Custody of Children (“Official Gazette of the FRY – International Treaties”, No. 1/2001); and
• the Law on Resolving Conflicts of Laws with the Regulations of Other Countries (“Official Gazette of the SFRY”, Nos. 43/82 and 72/82 – correction, “Official Gazette of the FRY”, No. 46/96, and “Official Gazette of the RS”, No. 46/2006 – other law).

Bilateral Treaties

Treaties on International Legal Assistance

Where bilateral treaties governing matters of international legal assistance are concerned, we would point out that in most cases such treaties also contain provisions regulating:

• the concept of foreign decisions,
• the manner of initiating the procedure, and
• the fulfilment of the conditions assessed by the competent authority for the recognition of foreign decisions.

Concept of Foreign Decisions

In most cases, foreign decisions include:

• final and enforceable court decisions and court settlements in civil, family, and commercial matters. Subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions, decisions on inheritance are also included;
• final and enforceable decisions of arbitral tribunals, as well as settlements concluded before them in respect of pecuniary claims, subject to certain prescribed conditions.

Initiation of Recognition and Enforcement Proceedings

An application for recognition and enforcement is submitted by the party either directly to the competent court of the recognition state or to the court that issued the first-instance decision in the matter. The latter court that issued the first-instance decision in the matter will then forward the application to the appropriate court of the other contracting party, following the provisions that govern the service of letters rogatory.

The following documents are typically included with the application for recognition and enforcement:

• A certified copy of the foreign judgment or settlement, along with a certificate confirming that the foreign judgment is final and enforceable, unless this is explicitly stated in the judgment itself;
• A certificate confirming that the party who did not participate in the proceedings and against whom the judgment was rendered was properly summoned in accordance with the law of the state where the judgment was issued;
• A certified translation of the application and the aforementioned documents into the language of the requested state.

Conditions for Recognition and Enforcement

Most bilateral treaties prescribe the following conditions under which a foreign decision will be recognised and enforced:

• that there is no exclusive jurisdiction of the court of the state of recognition in the matter concerned;
• that the decision is final and enforceable under the law of the contracting state in whose territory it was rendered;
• that the recognition or enforcement of the decision is not contrary to the public policy of the state of recognition;
• that the party, or its representative, who did not participate in the proceedings and against whom the decision was rendered, was served in due time with the summons or the claim together with its attachments, in the manner prescribed by the law of the state in which the decision was rendered, except for service by public notice;
• that, in the same matter, there is no final decision previously rendered by a competent court of the state of recognition between the same parties and in respect of the same subject matter and legal basis.

Some bilateral treaties also prescribe conditions that must be fulfilled where decisions of arbitral tribunals are concerned:

• that the decision is based on a written agreement conferring jurisdiction on the arbitral tribunal, and that the decision was rendered by the agreed arbitral tribunal within the limits of its authority as provided for in that agreement;
• that the agreement conferring jurisdiction on the arbitral tribunal is valid under the law of the state of recognition.

Procedure for the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Decisions

The court before which the procedure for the recognition and enforcement of a foreign decision has been initiated shall assess whether the conditions prescribed by the bilateral treaty have been fulfilled. If the conditions are met, it shall render a decision on recognition and enforcement and conduct the enforcement procedure in accordance with the applicable legal provisions.

In addition, most treaties provide that final court decisions of one contracting party concerning the personal status of its own nationals shall be recognised, that is, shall have legal effect, in the territory of the other contracting party without any review procedure.

Some treaties provide that, in the aforementioned case, each contracting party may review the conditions for recognition and enforcement where the decision concerns the personal status of its own nationals.

Multilateral Conventions

In addition to bilateral treaties, there are also multilateral conventions governing the procedure for the recognition and enforcement of foreign decisions. The purpose of these conventions is to facilitate and expedite the procedure for the recognition and enforcement of foreign decisions, particularly in the field of family relations, namely in matters concerning the exercise of parental rights and maintenance obligations.

The Law on Resolving Conflicts of Laws with the Regulations of Other Countries

According to the provisions of Article 86 of the Law on Resolving Conflicts of Laws with the Regulations of Other Countries (“Official Gazette of the SFRY”, Nos. 43/82 and 72/82 – correction, “Official Gazette of the FRY”, No. 46/96, and “Official Gazette of the RS”, No. 46/2006 – other law) a decision of a foreign court shall have the same status as the decision of the court of the Republic of Serbia and it shall produce legal effects in the Republic of Serbia only if recognized by a court of the Republic of Serbia.

A settlement reached before a court (a court settlement) shall also be considered a foreign court decision as well decision of another authority which is equivalent to the court decision in the country where it was taken shall also be considered a foreign court decision or court settlement respectively if it governs status, family and property relationships and other substantive relationships that are connected with a foreign element.

Certificate of Finality

A foreign court decision shall be recognized if the applicant has accompanied his request for the recognition with a confirmation of the competent foreign court or another authority respectively that the decision is final under the law of the country in which it was taken.

Conditions for the Recognition of a Foreign Court Judgment

Pursuant to the provisions of the Law on Resolving Conflicts of Laws with the Regulations of Other Countries (“Official Gazette of the SFRY”, Nos. 43/82 and 72/82 – correction, “Official Gazette of the FRY”, No. 46/96, and “Official Gazette of the RS”, No. 46/2006 – other law), the competent court shall refuse recognition of a foreign court judgment in the following cases:

• if it establishes, as a result of a review of an objection lodged by the person against whom the decision is passed, that such person was not able to participate in the proceedings due to procedural shortcomings. It shall particularly be considered that a person against whom the decision was passed was not able to participate in the proceedings since the service of summons, action or ruling instituting the proceedings was not effectuated or at all attempted on him/her personally, unless the person concerned was engaged in the arguments on the merits in the first-instance proceedings.
• if it concerns a legal matter falling within the exclusive jurisdiction of the court or another authority of the Republic of Serbia. If the defendant is seeking recognition of a foreign decision made in matrimonial proceedings or if the plaintiff requests so and the defendant is not opposing, the exclusive jurisdiction of a court of the Republic of Serbia shall not be an impediment to the recognition of such decision.
• if a court or other authority of the Republic of Serbia has rendered an enforceable decision on the same cause of action or if another foreign court decision passed in relation to the same cause of action has already been recognized.The court shall stay the recognition of a foreign court decision if proceedings involving the same cause of action between the same parties have been brought in a court of the Republic of Serbia until such time as the original proceedings are completed.
• if a foreign court decision is contrary to the foundations of the social system established by the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia.
• if reciprocity is lacking. The lack of reciprocity shall not be an impediment to the recognition of a foreign court decision made in matrimonial proceedings or proceedings for the establishment or denial of paternity or maternity, nor if the recognition or enforcement is sought by a Serbian national. The reciprocity in the field of recognition of foreign decisions shall be presumed until evidence to the contrary is presented. In the case of doubt as to the existence of such reciprocity, a clarification shall be provided by the federal authority responsible for the judiciary.

Recognition of Foreign Court Decisions on Personal Status

A foreign court decision shall be recognized even where a foreign law was applied to the determination of the status of a Serbian national which should have been governed by the law of the Republic of Serbia under the Law on Resolving Conflicts of Laws with the Regulations of Other Countries (“Official Gazette of the SFRY,” Nos. 43/82 and 72/82 – correction, “Official Gazette of the FRY,” No. 46/96, and “Official Gazette of the RS,” No. 46/2006 – other law), if such decision does not depart significantly from the law of the Republic of Serbia which governs the issue concerned.

Decisions of foreign courts that refer to the personal status of the citizen of the country whose decision is in question are recognized in the Republic of Serbia without review by the court whether there is exclusive jurisdiction of the court of the Republic of Serbia, whether there is reciprocity, as well as whether the foreign court decision conflicts with the Constitution of the Republic of Serbia and the established foundations of social order.

If an authority in the Republic of Serbia with jurisdiction determines that a foreign court decision pertains to the personal status of a Serbian national, that decision shall be recognized. However, this recognition is subject to the examination of all conditions for recognizing a foreign court decision, as prescribed by the Law on Resolving Conflicts of Laws with the Regulations of Other Countries (“Official Gazette of the SFRY,” Nos. 43/82 and 72/82 – correction, “Official Gazette of the FRY,” No. 46/96, and “Official Gazette of the RS,” No. 46/2006 – other law).

If a foreign court decision relates to the personal status of foreigners who are not nationals of the country which passed the decision, the decision shall be recognized only if it meets the requirements for the recognition in the country of which such persons are nationals.

Enforcement of Foreign Court Judgments

The enforcement of a foreign court judgment is subject to the provisions of Articles 87 to 92 of the Act on Resolving Conflicts of Laws with the Regulations of Other Countries (“Official Gazette of the SFRY”, Nos. 43/82 and 72/82 – correction, “Official Gazette of the FRY”, No. 46/96, and “Official Gazette of the RS”, No. 46/2006 – other law), which govern the conditions for the recognition of a foreign court judgment in the Republic of Serbia.

In addition to a certificate of finality, the applicant seeking enforcement of a foreign court judgment must also submit a certificate confirming that the judgment is enforceable under the law of the state in which it was rendered.

Procedure for the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Court Judgments

The subject-matter jurisdiction of courts for conducting proceedings for the recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments is determined in accordance with the provisions of the Law on the Organisation of Courts (“Official Gazette of the Republic of Serbia”, No. 10/2023). Territorial jurisdiction for the recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments lies with the court in whose area the recognition or enforcement procedure is to be carried out.

In proceedings for the recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments, the court is limited to examining whether the conditions set out in Articles 86 to 100 of the Law on Resolving Conflicts of Laws with the Regulations of Other Countries (“Official Gazette of the SFRY”, Nos. 43/82 and 72/82 – correction, “Official Gazette of the FRY”, No. 46/96, and “Official Gazette of the RS”, No. 46/2006 – other law) have been met and, if it considers it necessary, may request explanations both from the court that rendered the judgment and from the parties.

The parties may appeal against a decision on the recognition or enforcement of a judgment within 15 days from the date of serving of the decision, and the appeal shall be decided by the appellate court.

Recognition of a foreign court judgment in matters relating to personal status is authorised to be sought by any person having a legal interest therein.

If no separate decision on the recognition of a foreign judgment has been rendered, any court may decide on the recognition of that judgment in the proceedings before it as a preliminary issue, but only with effect for those particular proceedings.

Recognition of a Foreign Court Judgment as a Preliminary Issue in Enforcement Proceedings

By the Article 46 of the Law on Enforcement and Security Interest (“Official Gazette of the RS”, Nos. 106/2015, 106/2016 – authentic interpretation, 113/2017 – authentic interpretation, 54/2019, 9/2020 – authentic interpretation, 10/2023 – other law, and 91/2025) are prescribed that a foreign enforceable document is enforced in the same manner as a domestic enforceable document if it indicates a private legal claim and is recognised by a domestic court.

By the same Article 46 of the Law on Enforcement and Security Interest (“Official Gazette of the RS”, Nos. 106/2015, 106/2016 – authentic interpretation, 113/2017 – authentic interpretation, 54/2019, 9/2020 – authentic interpretation, 10/2023 – other law, and 91/2025), it is prescribed that an enforcement creditor may file a motion for enforcement of a foreign enforceable document that has not been recognised by a domestic court. In this case, the court with the jurisdiction to render the writ of execution also decides on recognition of a foreign enforceable document as a preliminary issue. Such a writ of execution may be contested by appeal also due to noncompliance with legal requirements for the recognition of a foreign enforceable document.

It follows from the above that an application for recognition of a foreign enforceable document may be filed independently or together with a motion for enforcement.

Bearing in mind that an appeal against an writ of execution based on an enforceable document is permitted but does not have suspensive effect, whereas an appeal against a decision recognising a foreign enforceable document is permitted and does have suspensive effect, an writ of execution based on a foreign enforceable document, in which the recognition of the foreign enforceable document, has also been decided as a preliminary issue, shall not be forwarded to a public enforcement officer for enforcement prior to that decision becoming final.

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