Recognition of Foreign Decisions in the Czech Republic

Brussels II ter and Brussels II bis Regulations

Recognition of foreign decisions on divorce, legal separation, or declaration of nullity of marriage is regulated at the EU level by Council Regulation (EU) 2019/1111 of 25 June 2019 on jurisdiction, the recognition and enforcement of decisions in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, and on international child abduction (Brussels II ter Regulation), and by Council Regulation (EC) 2201/2003 of 27 November 2003 concerning jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgements in matrimonial matters and the matters of parental responsibility, repealing Regulation (EC) No 1347/2000 (Brussels II bis Regulation).

The Brussels II bis Regulation applies to cases where the decision on divorce, legal separation, or declaration of nullity of marriage was issued in another EU Member State (except Denmark) from 1 March 2005 while also being issued in proceedings initiated before 31 July 2022 (cf. Article 100(2) and Article 104(1) of the Brussels II ter Regulation).

The Brussels II ter Regulation applies to decisions issued in another EU Member State (except Denmark) in proceedings initiated from 1 August 2022 (cf. Article 100(2) of the Brussels II ter Regulation).

Under Article 30(1) of the Brussels II ter Regulation (Article 21(1) of the Brussels II bis Regulation), decisions are recognised without any special procedure being required, and under Article 30(2) of the Brussels II ter Regulation (Article 21(2) of the Brussels II bis Regulation), no special procedure is required  for updating the civil status records of a Member State on the basis of a decision relating to divorce, legal separation or marriage annulment given in another Member State, and against which no further appeal lies under the law of that Member State.

Therefore, among the European Union Member States, a decision on divorce, legal separation, or declaration of nullity of marriage issued in one Member State is recognised in other Member States without any special proceedings or decisions being required. Decisions issued by the courts of one of the Member States have the same legal effects in other Member States of the European Union.

Such decisions and certificates associated with them do not require legalization or any other formalities. A submitted decision must be accompanied by an official translation into the Czech language. However, an apostille or superlegalization clause is not required (see "Recognition of Foreign Public Documents in the Czech Republic" for details).

Even though the decisions issued by courts of the Member States of the European Union (except Denmark) in accordance with the Brussels II bis and Brussels II ter Regulations are recognised without any special proceedings or decisions being required, any of the involved parties may request a decision on the recognition or non-recognition of a foreign decision to be issued by a Czech court (Article 21(3) of the Brussels II bis Regulation) or a decision that there are no grounds for refusal of recognition (Article 30(3) of the Brussels II ter Regulation). Such a request is however only optional and therefore does not represent an essential condition for recognition and/or enforcement of a decision.

A court may not recognise decisions on divorce, legal separation, or declaration of nullity of marriage on given grounds (see Article 22 of the Brussels II bis Regulation) or refuse its recognition (Article 38 of the Brussels II ter Regulation). In the Czech Republic, the district courts have jurisdiction for these proceedings (Section 16 (4) of Act No. 91/2012 Coll., on Private International Law).

A list of countries to which the Brussels II bis and Brussels II ter Regulation applies:

Belgium, Bulgaria (since 1 January 2007), Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Croatia (since 1 July 2013), Ireland, Italy, Cyprus, Lithuania, Latvia, Luxembourg, Hungary, Malta, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Austria, Romania (since 1 January 2007), Greece, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden.

In the case of decisions on divorce, legal separation, or declaration of nullity of marriage issued in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, which terminated its membership in the European Union on 31 January 2020, the following rules shall apply:

Recognition of decisions issued in proceedings initiated before 31 December 2020 is governed by rules contained in the Brussels II bis Regulation (see Article 67(2)(b) of the Agreement on the Withdrawal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland from the European Union and the European Atomic Energy Community).

Recognition of decisions issued in proceedings initiated after 1 January 2021 is governed by rules contained in the Hague Convention on the Recognition of Divorces and Legal Separations (see details below).

International Treaties

In cases not covered by the Brussels II bis and Brussels II ter Regulations (i.e. Denmark and non-EU Member States), it is necessary to determine whether the recognition of judgments is governed by an international treaty – in particular bilateral treaties on legal assistance and the Hague Convention on the Recognition of Divorces and Legal Separations.

The current list of Contracting Parties to the Hague Convention on the Recognition of Divorces and Legal Separations can be found directly on the
 Haagské konference website.

In addition to the Hague Convention, bilateral treaties on legal assistance, which generally cover the recognition of foreign decisions, apply to the recognition of foreign divorce decisions. Some of these treaties stipulate that decisions are to be recognised without further action. In such a case, no further proceedings before a national court are necessary for the recognition of the decision. On the other hand, in the case of other treaties further recognition proceedings before the national court are anticipated.

The Czech Republic has concluded bilateral treaties on legal assistance which allow for automatic recognition of decisions with the following countries:

Albania, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mongolia, Russia, Ukraine

In the case of these countries, the recognition of the divorce decision is automatic, therefore there is no need to issue another recognition decision in the Czech Republic.

However, in the case of other bilateral treaties that do not grant automatic recognition of decisions on divorce, it is necessary to proceed in accordance with Section 51 of Act No. 91/2012 Coll., on Private International Law, and to conduct recognition proceedings before the Supreme Court.

Act on Private International Law

If a decision issued in a country that is not subject to the Brussels II bis or Brussels II ter Regulation or the international treaties mentioned above is to be recognised, it is necessary to follow the procedure contained in Act No. 91/2012 Coll., on Private International Law. Section 51 of this Act specifies that final decisions in divorce cases are recognised in the Czech Republic based on a special decision issued by the Supreme Court upon an application filed by a party to the proceedings or by a party that demonstrates a legal interest therein.

Therefore, if recognition of a decision is governed by the Act on Private International Law, then the recognition of the decision is not automatic. For a decision to be recognised, it is necessary to file an application with the Supreme Court, which then issues a decision on recognition of a foreign decision on divorce.

It should be noted that according to the provisions of Section 52 of the Private International Law Act, if at the relevant time all parties to the proceedings were citizens of the country in which the decision was issued, the final foreign decision automatically has the same effects as if it were a decision of a Czech court. A similar case arises if the foreign judgment is recognised in the home countries of all the parties to the proceedings. In such cases, no further recognition proceedings are therefore necessary. However, if one of the parties is (also) a Czech citizen at the time the divorce decision was issued, the automatic recognition regime according to the above-mentioned provision does not apply, and it is necessary for the Supreme Court to decide on its recognition.

A submitted application 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 of this value can be purchased e.g. at the Czech Post Office or at any court building).
   
   Payment details:
   
   Court fee of CZK 2,000 to the account of the Supreme Court
   Account number: 3703-32723641/0710
   Variable symbol: DD MM YYYY (date of birth of the applicant)
   Specific symbol: 35
   
   Message for the receiver: Applicant’s surname
   
   BIC (SWIFT): CNBACZPP
   IBAN: CZ60 0710 0037 0300 3272 3641
   
   All the information above is necessary for identification of the payment and subsequent assignment to the appropriate agenda.
   
   Payment by duty stamps is possible until 31 December 2024.
   
   Please note that from 1 January 2025, payment of the court fee must be made by bank transfer to the Supreme Court's account. Payment by duty stamps, even if purchased before 31 December 2024, will not be taken into account.
    
2. A document declaring that at least one of the parties to the proceedings was a citizen of the Czech Republic at the time of issuance of the decision on divorce (Section 51 (1) of Act No. 91/2012 Coll., on Private International Law). A certificate of state citizenship issued by a competent authority is usually expected to be submitted (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 submit a valid identity card or passport of a citizen of the Czech Republic (photocopies of the pages where the validity of the passport is shown), provided that it certifies (the duration of its validity covers) citizenship at the time of the divorce.
3. The foreign decision on divorce (or nullity of marriage), as an official transcript or a certified copy, in its full wording, including reasoning with a clause certifying finality issued by the authority that issued the foreign decision (if such a clause can be issued). The decision must be apostilled or superlegalized if necessary (for the requirements for apostille or higher certification by superlegalization, see "Recognition of Foreign Public Documents in the Czech Republic" for details).
4. The marriage certificate regarding the marriage that has been dissolved based on a foreign decision is submitted with the application for recognition of a foreign decision regarding marriage (particularly regarding divorce or nullity of marriage). A plain copy of the marriage certificate is sufficient in this case.
5. The application for recognition of a foreign decision which, instead of giving reasons, refers to certain facts stated in the application or in the record of the proceedings shall be accompanied by a copy of the application filed with the foreign court or a copy of the record of the proceedings before the foreign court. If a child born to the divorced spouses is still a minor (under 18 years of age), a decision of a competent authority regarding the regulation of the child's situation after the dissolution of the marriage must also be submitted. In the case of a foreign decision, the procedure under paragraph 3 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
6. If the person filing an application 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 applicant’s behalf before the Supreme Court shall be submitted. Representation based on a power of attorney is convenient in particular if the person who files the application is located abroad, to where it would be necessary to serve correspondence via diplomatic missions of the Czech Republic and bodies of the foreign country responsible for mediation and provision of international legal assistance.
7. It is advisable to state when the decision became final (the date when a person is considered divorced according to the law of the country in which you were divorced).

All documents in a foreign language proving the facts stated in the application for recognition of a foreign decision must be accompanied by a certified Czech translation (see the list of official translators).

If the necessary documentary evidence is not attached to the application, the Supreme Court will ask the person requesting recognition of the foreign decision (or his/her representative) to provide it.

The application for recognition of a foreign decision shall be dealt with by a panel of the Supreme Court without holding a hearing. A written copy of the Supreme Court’s decision on recognition of a foreign decision in the Czech Republic shall be served on the person requesting the recognition of a foreign decision or to their representative representing them based on a power of attorney.

If the application does not meet all the requirements, the court shall request the applicant to complete it. However, from the point of view of the party to the proceedings, this may further delay the case. In some cases, the foreign decision cannot be recognised. These cases include the existence of exclusive jurisdiction of Czech courts, lack of international jurisdiction of the foreign court, the existence of a pending proceeding on the same matter in the Czech Republic that was initiated before the proceeding in another country in which the decision was issued, the existence of a final Czech decision on the same matter or a recognised decision from another country, a case where a party to the original proceeding was deprived of the possibility to participate properly in the proceedings, and a conflict with public policy.

The Brussels II ter Regulation does not apply to recognition of decision establishing or denying parenthood (see Article 1(4)(a) of the regulation), nor does any multilateral agreement. However, bilateral international treaties on legal assistance as well as the Czech Act on Private International Law do apply to this matter.

Bilateral International Treaties

Some bilateral treaties on legal assistance specify that decisions are to be recognised without requiring further action. In such cases, no further proceedings before a national court are required for the recognition of the decision. However, other treaties anticipate further recognition proceedings before a national court.

The Czech Republic has signed bilateral treaties on legal assistance, which allow for automatic recognition of decisions with the following countries:

Albania, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Hungary, Moldova, Mongolia, Poland, Russia, Ukraine.

In the case of a parenthood decision issued in these countries, recognition in the Czech Republic is automatic and no further special recognition decision is required.

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

Act on Private International Law

If it is necessary to recognise a decision issued in a state with which there is no bilateral treaty on legal assistance that provides for automatic recognition of decisions, it is required to proceed in accordance with Act No. 91/2012 Coll., on Private International Law. Section 55 of this Act states that Section 51 of this Act applies similarly to the recognition of final foreign decisions in matters of determination and denial of parenthood if at least one of the parties to the proceedings was a citizen of the Czech Republic. Section 51 provides that final decisions in divorce cases shall be recognised in the Czech Republic on the basis of a special decision issued by the Supreme Court upon an application filed by a party to the proceedings or by a party who demonstrates a legal interest therein.

Therefore, if the recognition of a decision is governed by the Act on Private International Law, the recognition of a foreign decision is not automatic. In order to recognise a decision, an application must be filed with the Supreme Court, which will issue a decision on the recognition of the foreign divorce decision. However, Section 52 of the Private International Law Act applies similarly to the recognition of a parenthood decision. Thus, if all parties were citizens of the country in which the decision in question was issued, the decision is recognised without further action (Section 55(2) of the Private International Law Act). However, if at least one of the parties was (also) a citizen of the Czech Republic at the time the decision was issued, the automatic recognition regime under the above provision does not apply and the Supreme Court must decide whether to recognise the decision.

The application for recognition of foreign decisions subject to recognition by the Supreme Court must be accompanied by:

1. A court fee of CZK 2,000 (a duty stamp of this value can be purchased e.g. at the Czech Post Office or at any court building).

   Payment details:
   
   Court fee of CZK 2,000 to the account of the Supreme Court
   Account number: 3703-32723641/0710
   Variable symbol: DD MM YYYY (date of birth of the applicant)
   Specific symbol: 35
   
   Message for the receiver: Applicant’s surname
   
   BIC (SWIFT): CNBACZPP
   IBAN: CZ60 0710 0037 0300 3272 3641
   
   All the information above is necessary for identification of the payment and subsequent assignment to the appropriate agenda.
   
   Payment by duty stamps is possible until 31 December 2024.
   
   Please note that from 1 January 2025, payment of the court fee must be made by bank transfer to the Supreme Court's account. Payment by duty stamps, even if purchased before 31 December 2024, will not be taken into account.

2. A document declaring that at least one of the parties to the proceedings was a citizen of the Czech Republic at the time of issuance of the decision on parenthood (Section 55(1) of Act No. 91/2012 Coll., on Private International Law). A certificate of state citizenship issued by a competent authority is usually expected to be submitted (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 submit a valid identity card or passport of a citizen of the Czech Republic (photocopies of the pages where the validity of the passport is shown), provided that it certifies (the duration of its validity covers) citizenship at the time of the proceeding.

3. The foreign decision establishing or denying parenthood, as an official transcript or a certified copy, in its full wording, including reasoning with a clause certifying finality issued by the authority that issued the foreign decision (if such a clause can be issued). The decision must be apostilled or superlegalized if necessary (for the requirements for apostille or higher certification by superlegalization, see "Recognition of Foreign Public Documents in the Czech Republic" for details).

4. The application for recognition of a foreign decision on the establishment or denial of parenthood shall be accompanied by the birth certificate of the child.

5. The application for recognition of a foreign decision which instead of an explanation refers to certain facts stated in the application or in the record of the hearing shall be accompanied by a copy of the application filed with the foreign court or a copy of the record of the hearing before the foreign court.

6. If the person filing the application for recognition of a foreign decision is represented by a representative by power of attorney, the power of attorney authorizing them to act on the applicant’s behalf before the Supreme Court shall be submitted. Representation by a representative on the basis of a power of attorney is convenient in particular if the person who files the application is located abroad, where they would have to be served with documents 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 proving the facts stated in the application for recognition of a foreign decision must be accompanied by a certified Czech translation (see the list of official translators).

If the necessary documentary evidence is not attached to the application, the Supreme Court will ask the person requesting recognition of the foreign decision (or his/her representative) to provide it.

The application for recognition of a foreign decision shall be dealt with by a panel of the Supreme Court without holding a hearing. A written copy of the Supreme Court’s decision on recognition of a foreign decision in the Czech Republic shall be served on the person requesting the recognition of a foreign decision or to their representative representing them based on a power of attorney.

If the application does not meet all the requirements, the court shall request the applicant to complete it. However, from the point of view of the party to the proceedings, this may further delay the case. In some cases, the foreign decision cannot be recognised. These cases include the existence of exclusive jurisdiction of Czech courts, lack of international jurisdiction of the foreign court, the existence of a pending proceeding on the same matter in the Czech Republic that was initiated before the proceeding in another country in which the decision was issued, the existence of a final Czech decision on the same matter or a recognised decision from another country, a case where a party to the original proceeding was deprived of the possibility to participate properly in the proceedings, and a conflict with public policy.

A public document is a document issued by a public authority within the limits of its powers or a document declared public by law. By whom a public document has been issued is usually certified by the official stamp of the issuing authority and the signature of the authorised person. In order for a public document issued in another country to have the evidentiary force of a public document in the Czech Republic as well, it must, according to the provision of Section 12 of Act No. 91/2012 Coll., on Private International Law, be authenticated as prescribed. In practice, two possible methods of authentication are used – superlegalization and apostille, which is a simplified higher authentication compared to superlegalization (see below). If an international treaty or a directly applicable EU regulation so provides, the recognition of foreign public documents can be fully automatic without the need for any further procedure.

Apostille

An apostille is used in the case of public documents which have not been exempted from higher authentication if they were issued in a country which is a party to the Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalisation for Foreign Public Documents. For the purpose of this Convention, public documents mean documents issued by a judicial authority, documents issued by administrative authorities, notarial acts and official certificates. Apostille entails that the authentication of a public document is issued by the competent authority of the country in which the document was issued (as opposed to the more complex superlegalization, see below).

An up-to-date list of countries bound by the so-called Apostille Convention can be found directly on the Hague Conference website, including the competent authority issuing the apostille in that country.

Superlegalization

If a public document has been issued in a country other than one of the listed above, its applicability in the Czech Republic is governed by the provision of Section 12 of the Private International Law Act, which states that a document issued by a court, notary, or authority in another country has the evidentiary force of a public document in the Czech Republic if it is authenticated in the prescribed manner. Superlegalization is a more complex but universal procedure that applies in cases where neither the exemption from higher authentication nor the use of an apostille applies. It consists in the authentication of the instrument not only by the national authority of the country in which the public document was issued (or several authorities, ultimately usually the Ministry of Foreign Affairs), but also by the embassy of the state in which the public document is to be used.

Detailed information on superlegalization can be found at specific Czech embassies abroad listed on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Exemption of a Foreign Public Document from Higher Authentication

A public document may be recognised automatically without further authentication if a bilateral or multilateral treaty has been negotiated with the issuing state which contains an exemption from the requirement of authentication.

In the case of the Czech Republic, such bilateral treaties have been negotiated with the following countries:

Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Belgium (only for documents related to a court request), Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cuba, Cyprus, Georgia, Croatia, France, Hungary, Italy, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Yemen, Austria, Romania, Russia, Greece (only for documents related to court requests), Northern Macedonia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Serbia, Syria, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia (only for documents related to international judicial cooperation), Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam

The exemption from authentication is also found in some multilateral international treaties, for example, the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Decisions Relating to Maintenance Obligations. Similarly, a number of EU regulations contain exemptions from the requirement of authentication for judicial and other public documents falling within their scope. In the area of judicial cooperation in civil matters, mention may be made in particular of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (Article 36), the Brussels II bis Regulation (Article 52), the Brussels II ter Regulation (Article 90) 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).

With effect from 16 February 2019, certain public documents relating to the personal status of persons may be subject to Regulation (EU) 2016/1191 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 6 July 2016 on promoting the free movement of citizens by simplifying the requirements for presenting certain public documents in the European Union and amending Regulation (EU) No 1024/2012. The Regulation covers public documents issued by the authorities of one Member State when they are to be presented in another Member State of the European Union and whose primary purpose is to establish one or more of the following facts: birth; a person being alive; death; name; marriage, including the capacity to marry and marital status; divorce, legal separation or marriage annulment; registered partnership, including the capacity to enter into a registered partnership and registered partnership status; dissolution of a registered partnership, legal separation or annulment of a registered partnership; parenthood; adoption; domicile or residence; nationality; absence of a criminal record, provided that public documents concerning this fact are issued for an EU citizen by the authorities of the Member State of which he or she is a national. Such documents shall be exempt from all forms of legalisation and similar formalities.