Agefi Luxembourg - décembre 2024

Décembre 2024 37 AGEFI Luxembourg Droit / Emploi By Valérie KOPÉRA, Counsel & Apolline CHOUNLAMOUNTRY, Associate, Baker &McKenzie Luxembourg A nymeasures tomake re- lations between the UnitedKingdom(the UK) and the EUnation-states more effective post-Brexit are likely tobewelcomedby Luxembourg andBritish businesses. In fact, since the endof the transitionpe- riodon 31stDecember 2020, theUKno longer benefits fromEU lawinstruments (1) . For over three andahalf years, judg- ments rendered by the courts of the United Kingdom (the UK judgments ) can no longerberecognizedandenforcedthroughtheregu- lations established by the EU, especially the Regula- tionEUNo1215/2012oftheEuropeanParliamentand oftheCouncilof12December2012onjurisdictionand therecognitionandenforcementofjudgmentsincivil and commercial matters (the Regulation 1215/2012 ). By leaving the European Union, the UK also left all thetreatieswheretheEUwasaparty,suchastheCon- vention on jurisdiction and the recognition and en- forcement of judgments in civil and commercial mattersconcludedon30October2007inLugano(the LuganoConvention ). Consequently,theenforcementofUKjudgmentshas become more complex by requiring litigants to rely on domestic proceedings– which are known to be longer andmore burdensome. Litigantshavethereforenochoicebuttolookforward into the Luxembourg regime of private international law or the Hague Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements (the HCCH 2005 Con- vention ), at least until 1 st July2025.After thisdate, the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgment in Civil or Commercial Matters concluded on 2 July 2019 (the HCCH 2019 Conven- tion )willcomeintoforcefortheUKandwillsimplify therecognitionandenforcementofUKjudgmentsby the Luxembourg courts. Luxembourg regime of international lawwill apply toUK judgments until July 1st 2025 Foreignjudgments (2) inLuxembourgrequireaformal application for recognitionandenforcement through theexequaturprocedure,whichcanbetime-consum- ing.However,shouldanexclusivejurisdictionclause applies,theapplicantcanbenefitfromsimplifiedpro- ceedingsundertheHagueConventionof30June2005 on Choice of Court Agreements (hereinafter the HCCH2005Convention ). WhereLuxembourgisnotboundbyalegallybinding internationalinstrumentwithaforeigncountryforthe recognition and the enforcement of foreign judg- ments, Luxembourg private international law shall apply, in particular article 678 of the Luxembourg NewCodeofCivilProcedure(the NCCP )alongwith corresponding case lawwill apply. This is currently thecaseforrecognizingandenforcingUKjudgments. A party seeking to recognize and enforce a final UK judgment within the territory of Luxembourg (the winningparty ) shall showthat the judgment at issue is valid under the Luxembourg regime of private in- ternational law. Such proceeding is very time-con- suming at the expense of the winning party. In fact, unliketheenforcementofEUjudgments (3) ,theburden of proving the international validity of foreign judg- mentslieswiththewiningparty.Tothatend,thelatter shall provide evidence that: -theUKcourthasindirectjurisdiction: here,theLux- embourgcourtwill verifywhether a clear connection between the dispute and the court of origin (i.e. the UKcourt) canbe found ; - theUK judgment complieswith the Luxembourg international public policy. Such public policy en- compasses the most fundamental principles of the Luxembourg legal system: here, the Luxembourg court will determine whether the recognition of UK judgmentsbreachesthesubstantivepublicpolicyand the procedural public policy; - the UK judgment is not obtained by fraud: here, the Luxembourg court will verify whether decisive documents had been withheld by a party, whether thejudgmenthasnotbeentakenonthebasisofforged documents or documents judicially declared to be false since the issuance of the judgment, whether the judgment has been taken on the basis of attestations, testimonies or oaths recognisedor judiciallydeclared to be false. - the UK judgment does not contradict a Luxem- bourgprevious decision ; -theUKjudgmentshallbefinalandbindingonthe parties . Suchproceedingslastbetween1to3years,depending onwhetherthepartyagainstwhichtheLuxembourg judgmentwas issuedfiles an appeal against it. However,currentlyenforcingaUKjudgmentinLux- embourgmaybe speedier inoneparticular situation, if the parties include a choice-of-court agreement in their contract. The HCCH 2005 Convention : when the parties, nationals of member States of theHCCH2005Convention,concluded a choice of court agreement, enforce- ment proceedings is simplified TheUKhas joined theHCCH2005Con- ventionon 1 st January 2021. The HCCH 2005 Convention con- tains three key obligations: (1) the court chosen by the parties must hear the dispute; (2) any non- chosen court must suspend / dis- miss proceedings, in favour of the chosen court; (3) judgments given by the chosen courtmust be recog- nized and enforced in other mem- ber States ensuring their global circulation. In light of these obliga- tions, UK judgments can be enforced undertheHCCH2005ConventionwithouttheLux- embourg court applying the domestic regime of in- ternational private law. The HCCH 2005 Convention benefits the winning party inseveralways. First, theHCCH2005Conven- tion in its article 8(2) provides that “ there shall be no re- view of the merits of the judgment given by the court of origin ”bytheLuxembourgcourt.Second,theconven- tion switches the burdenof proof on the losingparty. Itisthelatterwhohavetobringevidenceforthecourt todeny recognition and enforcement. Inparticular, it shall showthat: i. The choice of court agreement was null and void under the lawof the state of the chosen court, theUK for instance; ii.Apartylacksofcapacitytoconcludetheagreement under the laws of Luxembourg; iii. The document which instituted the proceedings was improperlynotified; iv. The judgmentwas obtainedby fraud; v. Recognitionandenforcement ismanifestly incom- patiblewith the public policy of Luxembourg; vi. The judgment is inconsistent with a judgment given in Luxembourg or with an earlier judgment giveninanotherStatebetweenthesamepartiesonthe same cause of action At the moment the HCCH 2005 Convention is the only international treatywhichallows parties to en- force their UK judgments in Luxembourg. How- ever, theEU– includingLuxembourg – and theUK are members of the HCCH 2019 Convention. This convention has entered into force in 2023 in the EU and Luxembourg and will enter into force in 2025 in the UK. TheHCCH2019Convention to be applicable – the solution for disputes arising after July, 1st 2025 As the HCCH 2005 Convention, the HCCH 2019 Convention aims to simplify the recognition and en- forcement of foreign judgments for contracting par- ties. Unlike theHCCH2005Convention, it applies to judgments issued in civil and commercial matters withoutchoice-of-courtagreements (4) .Statusandlegal capacityofnaturalpersons,familylawmatters,insol- vency, privacy, intellectual property, certain antitrust matters and arbitration and related proceedings are excluded (5) . On27June2024,theUKratifiedtheHCCH2019Con- vention and it will enter into force on 1 st July 2025. Thus,startingon1 st July2025,recognizingandenforc- ing UK judgments will be easier since they will fall within the scope of this convention (6) . Themainbenefit of theHCCH2019Convention is to establish a common framework under which judg- ments issued by UK courts be recognized and en- forced in Luxembourg if the UK judgment is eligible for circulation. Toqualifyas such, oneof the listed re- quirementsmust bemet, among others: i. Domicile – the losing party is habitually resident and/or holds their principal place of business in the UK; ii. Consent – the losing party expressly consented to theUKcourt’s jurisdiction; iii.Waiver–thelosingpartywaivedanyjurisdictional objections by arguing the merits in the UK without contesting jurisdiction; iv. Real property – the judgment ruled on a lease of immovable property within the UK court in which the property is situated (7) . Asunder theHCCH2005Convention, theburdenof proof switches to the losing party which shall show that the recognition and the enforcement of the UK judgment should be refused. The HCCH 2019 Con- vention provides various grounds for the Luxem- bourg court to refuse to enforce theUK judgment: i. The writ of summons or the application was not properly served on the defending party preventing themfrompresenting their case; ii. The judgment to be recognized has been rendered basedon fraudulent elements; iii. The judgment is inconsistent with Luxembourg substantial public policy iv.Thejudgmentwasnotissuedbyacourtofcompe- tent jurisdiction; v.Thejudgmentcontradictsapreviousexistingjudg- ment involving the same parties or matter, whether inLuxembourg or in another foreign jurisdiction; vi. The judgment initiates a case of lis pendens (8) . Thus, by shifting the burden of proof to the losing party andby simplifying the enforcement proceed- ings, the HCCH 2019 Conventionwill provide liti- gants with a mechanism that is easier, faster and cost saving. 1)AgreementonthewithdrawaloftheUnitedKingdomofGreat Britain andNorthern Ireland from the EuropeanUnion and the EuropeanAtomicEnergyCommunity,PartFour. 2)SaveforthoseissuedincountrieswithwhichLuxembourghas bilateralarrangementsorEUMemberstates judgments. 3)Inthissituation,thelosingpartyshallprovideevidenceforthe competentcourttorefusetherecognitionandtheenforcementof theEU judgment 4)Article1HCCH2019Convention. 5) Article 2(1) and (3) HCCH 2019 Convention. Please note that accordingtoarticle18(1)HCCH2019Convention,MemberStates mayalsodeclarethattheConventiondoesnotapplytootherspe- cificmatters 6)Article16HCCH2019Convention. 7)Article5(1)HCCH2019Convention. 8)Article7HCCH2019Convention. Recognition and enforcement of the UK judgment post-Brexit : a Christmas wish for simplification Deuxième réunion du Haut comité pour l'attraction, la rétention et le développement de talents «L'attraction de talents est primordiale pour dynamiser notre économie » A près une première réunion en juin 2024, leHaut co- mité pour l'attraction, la ré- tention et le développement de talents s'est à nouveau réuni en date du 4 décembre 2024 sous la présidence duministre de l'Écono- mie, des PME, de l'Énergie et du Tourisme, LexDelles. Pour rappel, le Haut comité, prévu par l'accorddecoalition,estunorganeconsul- tatif qui a pour vocation de donner des avisetfairedespropositionsafind'orienter l'action du gouvernement dans le domaine de l'attraction, la rétention et le développement de talents. La Chambre de commerce, la Chambre des métiers et la Chambre des salariés y sont représentés, ainsi que les ministres ayantdansleursattributionsleTravail,les Affaires étrangères, l'Enseignement supé- rieur, les Finances, la Formation profes- sionnelleetl'Immigration.Cettedeuxième réunion a permis de faire le point sur la mise en œuvre d'initiatives visant à ren- forcerl'attractivitéduLuxembourgentant que destination de choix pour les talents internationaux. Lors de la réunion, plusieurs points clés ont ainsi été abordés : - Discussion sur les défis de l'attractionde talents: Les participants ont partagé leurs expériencesetsoulevédespointscritiques, ouvrant la voie à des solutions concrètes. - Avancement des travaux sur le portail dédié aux talents internationaux: Unpor- tail numérique, dont le lancement est prévupour lepremier semestre 2025, ser- vira de ressource clé pour attirer des talents et faciliter leur intégration au Luxembourg. - Finalement, Steve Duncan, expert en matière d'attraction et de rétention de talents, a présenté au Haut comité plu- sieurs études menées sur l'attraction des talents : o Product Research, une analyse compa- rative des mesures adoptées par d'autres pays européens. o Perception Research, qui évalue com- ment le Luxembourg est perçu par des talentsenFrance,auPortugal,enChineet en Inde. o Promotional Strategy, proposant des stratégies pour optimiser la promotion internationale dupays auprès des talents. Laréunionaégalementpermisdefixerles jalonspour2025,avecunfocussurlafina- lisation et le lancement du portail dédié ainsi que l'élaboration d'un Employers Toolkitpouraccompagnerlesentreprises, notamment les PME, dans leurs efforts pour recruter des talents internationaux. LeministreLexDelles a souligné l'impor- tance des échanges au sein du Haut comité:«L'attractiondetalentsestprimor- diale pour dynamiser notre économie. Nous devons continuer à innover pour répondre aux attentes des professionnels du monde entier, tout en veillant à offrir uncadredevieetdetravailagréable.Cette réunion a non seulement permis de dis- cuteraveclesacteursduterrainmaisaussi de nous assurer de l'état d'avancement d'outils concrets, dont leportail dédié aux talents internationaux. Ce portail numé- rique représentera une avancée majeure et un avantage aussi bien pour les employeurs que pour les talents désireux d'intégrerlemarchédutravailluxembour- geois. Il offrira des ressources pratiques pour faciliter leur installation et intégra- tion, et soutiendra les entreprises, notam- ment les PME, dans leurs démarches de recrutement. Cette collaboration au sein duHaut comitémontre notre détermina- tion à faire du Luxembourg une destina- tionde choix pour les talents.» La prochaine réunion duHaut comité est prévuepourleprintemps2025etpermet- tra de faire un nouveau point sur l'avan- cement des projets discutés. Source : ministère de l'Économie (de g. à dr.) Lex D ELLES , ministre de l’Économie, des PME, de l’Énergie et du Tourisme ; Jeff F ELLER , Coordinateur de la politique économique, ministère de l’Économie © MECO