Summary
Pursuant to Article 21(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003, a German judgment on legal separation that is no longer subject to appeal according to the law of the State where it has been issued can be recognised in the other Member States without any proceedings.
Pursuant to Article 28(1) of Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003, the ancillary orders relating to children included in a German judgment on legal separation shall be considered final and no longer subject to appeal under German law even when such judgment has been appealed to the German Constitutional Court for violation of fundamental rights. Accordingly, said judgment can be enforced in Italy after it has been declared enforceable in Germany on the application of the interested party, provided that it has been served [to the other party].
Pursuant to Article 20(2) of Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003, the provisional measures for the protection of children issued, pursuant to Article 20(1), by the courts of a Member State different from the Member State whose courts have jurisdiction as to the substance of the matter shall cease to apply when the courts of the latter Member State have taken the final measures they consider appropriate.
A German final decision on legal separation, which includes ancillary orders relating to children, cannot be compared to, and therefore cannot be in contrast with – for the purpose of Articles 22(c) and 23(e) of Regulation (EC) No 2201/2003 – an Italian non-final judgment on legal separation and with the provisional measures issued in the relevant separation proceedings pending in Italy.