EUPillar S.P.R.L. Ateliers B. & V. v Screenbase Limited - Civ. (réf.) Liège, 17 September 2003

Summary

The plaintiff had introduced proceedings before the enforcement judge of Liège. The enforcement judge had transferred the case to the Court of First Instance of Liège on 16 June 2003. In a judgment of 2 November 2001, the Court of Appeal of Brussels had ordered a periodic penalty payment in case of non-respect by the defendant of the order in its judgment. The plaintiff’s objective is to ask the court to establish that the conditions of the periodic penalty payment are fulfilled and determine the final amount, as required by Art. 49 Brussels I (“A foreign judgment which orders a periodic payment by way of a penalty shall be enforceable in the Member State in which enforcement is sought only if the amount of the payment has been finally determined by the courts of the Member State of origin.”). The enforcement proceedings will take place in the United Kingdom – but this does not change anything about the internal division of jurisdiction between the Belgian courts. The enforcement judge of Liège is competent pursuant to Arts. 1395(1) and 1498 Belgian Judicial Code. The President of the Court of First Instance refers the case back to the enforcement judge. SHORT CRITIQUE The real issue here is the division of competences on the national level, more than the application of the Brussels I Regulation