Proceedings on Recognition of Foreign Decisions

It is essential to point out that pursuant to the provisions of Section 52 of the Act on International Private Law, in a situation in which during the decisive period all parties to the proceedings were citizens of the country in which the decision was issued, such legally effective foreign decision shall automatically have the same effects as if it were a decision issued by a Czech court. A similar situation shall occur if the foreign decision is recognised in the home countries of all parties to the proceedings. In such cases, no further proceedings regarding recognition shall be required.

A submitted request for recognition of a foreign decision subject to recognition by the Supreme Court must be accompanied by:

1. A court fee of CZK 2,000 (a duty stamp in this value).

2. A document declaring that at least one of the parties to the proceedings was at the time of issuance of the decision regarding divorce a citizen of the Czech Republic (Section 51 paragraph 1 of Act No. 91/2012 Coll., on International Private Law). A certificate of state citizenship issued by a relevant authority is usually expected (Section 44 of Act No. 186/2013 Coll., on State Citizenship of the Czech Republic and on Amendment of Certain Other Acts). It is also possible to present a valid national identity card or passport of a Czech citizen (photocopies of the pages showing the validity of the passport), if citizenship is being certified at the time of the divorce (a document certifying citizenship is not currently sufficient).

3. A foreign decision regarding divorce (or nullity of marriage), as an official transcript or certified copy, in its full wording, including an explanation with a clause regarding legal effectiveness obtained by a body that issued the foreign decision (if such clause has been issued). The decision may need to be accompanied by an apostille, or its super legalisation may be required (for more details about the requirements for obtaining an Apostille or higher verification through super legalisation, see below “Recognition of Foreign Public Documents in the Czech Republic”).

4. The marriage certificate regarding the marriage that has been dissolved based on a foreign decision should be submitted with the request for recognition of a foreign decision regarding marriage (particularly regarding divorce or nullity of marriage).

5. The request for recognition of a foreign decision which instead of an explanation refers to the factual details contained in the request (action) or in the record of the hearing shall be accompanied by transcript (copy) of the request (action), which was filed with a foreign court and/or a copy of the record of proceedings conducted at a foreign court.

6. If the person filing a request for recognition of a foreign decision is represented based on a power of attorney, the power of attorney authorising the representative to act on the plaintiff’s behalf before the Czech Supreme Court shall be submitted. Representation based on a power of attorney is beneficial in particular if the person who submitted the request is located abroad, to where it would be necessary to deliver correspondence via diplomatic missions of the Czech Republic and bodies of the foreign country responsible for mediation and provision of international legal assistance.

All documents in a foreign language used for proving the details contained in the request for recognition of a foreign decision will need to be accompanied by a certified translation into Czech (a list of official translators can be found at each regional court, including the Municipal Court in Prague).
If the necessary documents are not attached to the request, then the person requesting the recognition of the foreign decision (or that person's representative) shall be called upon by the Czech Supreme Court to submit (add) them.

A Panel of the Czech Supreme Court shall discuss the request for recognition of a foreign decision without the need for a hearing to be ordered. A written copy of the Czech Supreme Court’s decision regarding recognition of a foreign decision in the Czech Republic shall be delivered to the person who requested recognition of the foreign decision or to his/her representative, who is representing him/her based on a power of attorney.

If the request does not contain all of the necessary details, the court shall ask the plaintiff to add to it. However, such circumstances can prolong the process for the party to the proceedings. In some cases, foreign decisions cannot be recognised. Such cases include those in which a Czech court has exclusive jurisdiction, or if the foreign court lacks jurisdiction, or in which proceedings are already being conducted in the Czech Republic regarding the same matter and such proceedings were commenced before the proceedings in the other country where the decision was issued, or if a legally effective decision of a Czech court exists regarding the same matter or recognised decision from another country, or if the party to the original proceedings has been deprived of the opportunity to participate properly in a hearing, or if such foreign decision would conflict with public order.

Recognition of a Decision Establishing or Denying Paternity

The Brussels II bis Regulation does not apply to foreign decisions Decision Establishing or Denying Paternity [See Article 1 paragraph 3 letter a) of the Regulation], nor does any multilateral convention. However, bilateral legal agreements regarding legal assistance as well as the Czech Act on International Private Law do apply to them.

Bilateral International Agreements

Some bilateral agreements regarding legal assistance specify that decisions are recognised without conditions needing to be fulfilled. In such cases, the recognition of a decision does not require any further proceedings before a domestic court. In the case of other agreements, however, further proceedings regarding recognition conducted before a domestic court are expected.

Bilateral agreements regarding legal assistance, which enable automatic recognition of decisions, have been entered into by the Czech Republic with the following countries:
Albania, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Hungaria, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Russia, Ukraine

In the case of a decision regarding paternity issued in these countries, recognition is automatic in the Czech Republic, and no further special decisions regarding recognition are necessary.

However, in the case of other bilateral agreements, which do not establish automatic recognition of a decision, it is necessary to proceed in accordance with Section 55 of Act No. 91/2012 Coll., on International Private Law, and to conduct proceedings regarding recognition before the Supreme Court.

Act on International Private Law

If it is necessary to recognise a decision that was issued in a country with which a bilateral agreement on legal assistance expecting automatic recognition of a decision has not been entered into, then it will be necessary to proceed in accordance with Act No. 91/2012 Coll., on International Private Law. This Act, in the provisions of Section 55, states that for recognition of legally effective decisions decision establishing or denying paternity, if at least one of the parties to the proceedings is a citizen of the Czech Republic, Section 51 of the Act shall apply similarly. The provisions of Section 51 of that Act state that legally effective decisions regarding divorce in the Czech Republic are recognised based on a special decision issued by the Supreme Court at the request of a party to the proceedings or at the request of someone who proves a legal interest.

Therefore, if recognition of a decision is governed by the Act on International Private Law, then the recognition of the decision is not automatic. In order for a decision to be recognised, it is necessary to file a request with the Supreme Court, which shall issue a decision regarding recognition of a foreign decision regarding divorce. During recognition of a decision regarding parental status, Section 52 of the Act on International Private Law shall apply similarly. If all of the parties were citizens of the country where the respective decision was issued, then the decisions shall be recognised without further conditions being required (Section 55 paragraph 2 of the Act on International Private Law).

A submitted request for recognition of a foreign decision subject to recognition by the Supreme Court must be accompanied by:

1. A court fee of CZK 2,000 (a duty stamp in this value).

2. A document declaring that at least one of the parties to the proceedings was at the time of issuance of the decision establishing or denying paternity a citizen of the Czech Republic (Section 55 paragraph 1 of Act No. 91/2012 Coll., on International Private Law). A certificate of state citizenship issued by a relevant authority is usually expected (Section 44 of Act No. 186/2013 Coll., on State Citizenship of the Czech Republic and on Amendment of Certain Other Acts). It is also possible to present a valid national identity card or passport of a Czech citizen (photocopies of the pages showing the validity of the passport), if citizenship is being certified at the time of the proceedings..

3. A foreign decision establishing or denying paternity, as an official transcript or certified copy, in its full wording, including an explanation with a clause regarding legal effectiveness obtained by a body that issued the foreign decision (if such clause has been issued). The decision may need to be accompanied by an apostille, or its super legalisation may be required (for more details about the requirements for obtaining an apostille or higher verification through super legalisation, see below “Recognition of Foreign Public Documents in the Czech Republic”).

4. The request for recognition of a foreign decision establishing or denying paternity must be accompanied by a birth certificate of the child born.

5. The request for recognition of a foreign decision which instead of an explanation refers to the factual details contained in the request (action) or in the record of the hearing shall be accompanied by transcript (copy) of the request (action), which was filed with a foreign court and/or a copy of the record of proceedings conducted at a foreign court.

6. If the person filing a request for recognition of a foreign decision is represented based on a power of attorney, the power of attorney authorising the representative to act on the plaintiff’s behalf before the Czech Supreme Court shall be submitted. Representation based on a power of attorney is beneficial in particular if the person who submitted the request is located abroad, to where it would be necessary to deliver correspondence via diplomatic missions of the Czech Republic and bodies of the foreign country responsible for mediation and provision of international legal assistance.

All documents in a foreign language used for proving the details contained in the request for recognition of a foreign decision will need to be accompanied by a certified translation into Czech (a list of official translators can be found at each regional court, including the Municipal Court in Prague).
If the necessary documents are not attached to the request, then the person requesting the recognition of the foreign decision (or that person's representative) shall be called upon by the Czech Supreme Court to submit (add) them.

A Panel of the Czech Supreme Court shall discuss the request for recognition of a foreign decision without the need for a hearing to be ordered. A written copy of the Czech Supreme Court’s decision regarding recognition of a foreign decision in the Czech Republic shall be delivered to the person who requested recognition of the foreign decision or to his/her representative, who is representing him/her based on a power of attorney.

If the request does not contain all of the necessary details, the court shall ask the plaintiff to add to it. However, such circumstances can prolong the process for the party to the proceedings. In some cases, foreign decisions cannot be recognised. Such cases include those in which a Czech court has exclusive jurisdiction, or if the foreign court lacks jurisdiction, or in which proceedings are already being conducted in the Czech Republic regarding the same matter and such proceedings were commenced before the proceedings in the other country where the decision was issued, or if a legally effective decision of a Czech court exists regarding the same matter or recognised decision from another country, or if the party to the original proceedings has been deprived of the opportunity to participate properly in a hearing, or if such foreign decision would conflict with public order.

Recognition of Foreign Public Documents in the Czech Republic

A public document is a document issued by a public power body within the scope of its authority or a document declared by law as a public document. The person or entity who issued the public document is usually confirmed by an official stamp of the issuer and a signature of the issuer’s authorised representative. In order for a public document issued in another member state to have power as evidence also in the Czech Republic, then pursuant to the provisions of Section 12 of Act No. 91/2012 Coll., on international private law, it must be accompanied by the required verification. In practice two possible methods of verification are used: super legalisation and Apostille; an Apostille, unlike super legalisation, represents a simplified form of higher verification (see below). If so stipulated by an international agreement or by a directly applicable EU regulation, the recognition of foreign public documents may be entirely automatic without the need for further procedures.

Relief of a Foreign Public Document From a Requirement for Higher Verification

A public document may be recognised automatically, without further verification being required, if the country that issued it has entered into a bilateral or multilateral agreement stipulating relief from the requirement for verification.

In the Czech Republic’s case, such bilateral agreements have been entered into with the following countries:
Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Belgium (only for documents related to a court's request), Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Montenegro, France, Georgia, Croatia, Italy, Yemen, North Korea, Cuba, Cyprus, Kyrgyzstan, Hungary, Macedonia, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Portugal, Austria, Romania, Russia, Greece (only for documents related to a court's request), Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Syria, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia (only for documents within the scope of international judicial cooperation), Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam

One can also encounter relief from the requirement for verification in the case of multilateral international agreements, such as in the case of the Hague Convention concerning the recognition and enforcement of decisions relating to maintenance obligations. Several pieces of EU legislation contain similar relief from the requirement for verification for judicial and other public documents within the scope of their applicability. In the case of judicial cooperation in civil matters, provisions that can be mentioned include Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) No. 1215/2012 of 12 December 2012, on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgements in civil and commercial matters (Article 36), Council Regulation (EC) No. 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003, on jurisdiction, recognition and enforcement of judgements in matrimonial and parental responsibility matters (Article 52), or Council Regulation (EC) No. 4/2009 of 18 December 2008, on jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforcement of decisions and cooperation in matters relating to maintenance obligations (Article 65).

Apostille

An apostille is used for public documents which have not been relieved of higher verification requirements, if they have been issued in a country which is a party to the Convention on Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents. Public documents are defined by that Convention as documents issued documents emanating from an authority or an official connected with the courts or tribunals of the State, administrative documents, notarial acts and official certificates. An apostille involves confirmation of the authenticity of a public document by the country in which the document was issued (unlike more complex super legalisation, see below). It is possible to refer in detail to the website of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs (www.mzv.cz), where more information can be found regarding Apostille.

With the exception of some of the countries with which the agreement on legal assistance was entered into, the Convention on Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents also applies to these countries:
Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Botswana, Brazil (from 14 August 2016), Brunei, Burundi, Cook Islands, Chile (from 30 August 2016), China (only Hong Kong and Macao), Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, Grenada, Honduras, India, Ireland, Iceland, Israel, Japan, South Africa, Cape Verde, Kazakhstan, Colombia, South Korea, Kosovo (from 14 July 2016), Costa Rica, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malta, Morocco, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Namibia, Germany, Nicaragua, Niue, Netherlands, Norway, New Zealand, Oman, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Greece, El Salvador, Samoa, San Marino, Seychelles, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States, Suriname, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, Sao Tome and Principe, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Swaziland Sweden, Tajikistan, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela
(situation as of 29 March 2016, a current list of contractual states can be found directly at the website of the Hague Convention)

Super Legalisation

If the public document was issued in a country other than one of those specified above, its applicability in the Czech Republic shall be governed by the provisions of Section 12 of the Act on International Private Law, which stipulate that a document issued by a court, notary or body in another country has legal effectiveness as evidence in the Czech Republic if it is accompanied by a required form of verification. Super legalisation is a more complex but universal procedure, which is used when neither relief from higher verification nor use of an Apostille is applied. It involves the verification of a document not only by a domestic body of the country where the public document was issued (or multiple bodies, and finally usually the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), but also by a diplomatic mission of the country where the public document will be used. An example is the recognition of decisions by Canadian courts, since Canada is not a party to the Convention on Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents and therefore super legalisation is necessary: therefore, a decision by a court in the Canadian province of Ontario must be verified by the Canadian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and by the Czech Embassy in Canada.

It is possible to refer in detail to the website of the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs (www.mzv.cz), where more information can be found regarding super legalisation.

The application for recognition of a foreign decision must be submitted in the Czech language on the following form:

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