Enforcing a Foreign Judgment or Arbitral Award in Romania

Legal position as at: 2 November 2026

At a glance

• Who it is for: creditors holding a judgment or arbitral award from any country, EU or not, including the UK, the US, India and Switzerland, against a debtor with assets in Romania.
• First step: identify which regime applies (EU judgment, UK judgment, other non-EU judgment, or arbitral award) and obtain the documents it requires from the court or tribunal of origin.
• The main deadline: a request for recognition interrupts the limitation period for enforcement (Civil Procedure Code, art. 1101), so do not wait once the debtor fails to pay.

Whether you can go straight to a Romanian bailiff or must first obtain a Romanian court decision called exequatur (încuviințarea executării, the court's permission to enforce a foreign title) depends on where the judgment or award was made. There are four routes:

• a judgment from another EU Member State: no exequatur under Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 (Brussels Ia);
• a judgment from the United Kingdom: Brussels Ia for older proceedings, the 2005 Hague Choice of Court Convention where the parties chose a UK court exclusively, the 2019 Hague Judgments Convention for recent proceedings, otherwise Romanian national law;
• a judgment from any other country: exequatur by the tribunal (tribunalul) under Book VII of the Civil Procedure Code;
• an arbitral award made outside Romania: recognition and enforcement under the 1958 New York Convention and the Civil Procedure Code, wherever the seat was, EU included.

Each route ends with an enforceable title (titlu executoriu), the document on which a Romanian bailiff can act. The steps after that are described in our article on enforcement against bank accounts, real estate and shares.

Judgments from EU Member States (Brussels Ia)

No exequatur

A judgment given in a Member State and enforceable there is enforceable in Romania without any declaration of enforceability (Brussels Ia, art. 39). Recognition is automatic, without any special procedure (art. 36(1)). Insolvency proceedings and arbitration are excluded (art. 1(2)(b) and (d)). The regime applies to judgments in proceedings started on or after 10 January 2015 (art. 66(1)); older judgments remain under Regulation (EC) No 44/2001, which still required a declaration of enforceability (art. 66(2)).

What you hand to the bailiff

You give the competent enforcement authority an authentic copy of the judgment and the certificate issued by the court of origin on the Annex I form, which confirms enforceability and states recoverable costs and interest (art. 42(1) and art. 53). A translation of the certificate may be requested, and of the judgment only if the authority cannot proceed without one (art. 42(3) and (4)); a person qualified in any Member State may translate (art. 57(3)). No legalisation is required (art. 61), nor a postal address in Romania (art. 41(3)).

Enforcement then follows Romanian law, under the same conditions as a Romanian judgment (art. 41(1)). In Romanian practice the creditor files the title with a bailiff (executor judecătoresc), who applies to the enforcement court (instanța de executare) for approval of enforcement (Civil Procedure Code, art. 666(1)). The enforcement court is, as a rule, the district court (judecătoria) for the debtor's domicile or seat (art. 651(1)).

The certificate, and the judgment if not yet served, must be served on the debtor before the first enforcement measure (art. 43(1)). If the debtor asks for a translation of the judgment, only protective measures may be taken until it is provided (art. 43(2)). An enforceable judgment carries by operation of law the power to take protective measures available under Romanian law (art. 40); see our article on freezing a debtor's assets.

The debtor's defences

The debtor can apply for refusal of enforcement to the court Romania has notified to the Commission, which is the tribunal (tribunalul) (art. 46 and art. 47(1); Government Emergency Ordinance No 119/2006, art. I^4, art. 1). The grounds are exhaustive (art. 45(1)):

• manifest breach of Romanian public policy;
• in a default judgment, late or defective service of the document instituting the proceedings, unless the debtor failed to challenge the judgment when it could;
• irreconcilability with a Romanian judgment between the same parties, or with an earlier recognisable judgment on the same cause of action;
• breach of the protective jurisdiction rules for insurance, consumer and employment matters, or of the exclusive jurisdiction rules.

There is no review of the substance (art. 52), nor of the origin court's jurisdiction outside those rules (art. 45(3)). Either party may appeal the decision (art. 49(1)); according to Romania's notification under art. 75(b) and (c), published on the European e-Justice Portal, the appeal goes to the court of appeal (curtea de apel) and any further appeal to the High Court of Cassation and Justice (Înalta Curte de Casație și Justiție) (art. 49(2) and art. 50).

While a refusal application is pending, the court may limit enforcement to protective measures, make it conditional on security or suspend it (art. 44(1)), and the competent authority must, on the debtor's application, suspend enforcement if enforceability is suspended in the state of origin (art. 44(2)). A penalty payment ordered abroad is enforceable only once the court of origin has finally fixed its amount (art. 55).

For small and uncontested claims, the European order for payment, small claims and Enforcement Order procedures give titles that are harder to resist; see our article on the European Order for Payment and small claims.

Judgments from the United Kingdom

The 2005 Hague Choice of Court Convention binds Romania through the EU from 1 October 2015, and the United Kingdom is a party (HCCH status table). It covers exclusive choice-of-court agreements in civil or commercial matters, concluded in writing or in another form usable for later reference (art. 1(1) and art. 3), and a judgment of the chosen court is recognised and enforced without review of the merits, subject to limited refusal grounds (art. 8(1) and (2), art. 9). It applies only to agreements concluded after its entry into force for the state of the chosen court (art. 16(1)). The United Kingdom's own instrument of accession took effect on 1 January 2021, while the United Kingdom considers itself bound without interruption since 1 October 2015 (United Kingdom notification of 28 September 2020, HCCH); for agreements concluded before 2021 the time rules must be checked case by case.

The 2019 Convention binds Romania through the EU from 1 September 2023 and took effect for the United Kingdom on 1 July 2025; it applies only if it had effect between the two states when the proceedings were instituted (art. 16). Under it the merits are not reviewed (art. 4(2)), refusal is limited to the grounds in the Convention, such as defective notice, fraud, public policy and inconsistent judgments (art. 4(1) and art. 7(1)), and the procedure follows Romanian law (art. 13(1)).

Judgments from non-EU countries (Civil Procedure Code, Book VII)

Which judgments and which court

The national rules apply to judgments of courts, notaries and other authorities of non-EU states such as the United States, India or China (Civil Procedure Code, art. 1094). A treaty between Romania and the state of origin, or the 2007 Lugano Convention (preserved by Brussels Ia, art. 73(1)), may set different rules.

A foreign judgment that is not paid voluntarily can be enforced in Romania on the basis of exequatur granted by the tribunal (tribunalul) for the place where enforcement is to take place (art. 1103(1)). Foreign judgments ordering protective measures and judgments given with provisional enforcement cannot be enforced in Romania (art. 1103(2)); for interim relief you apply to the Romanian courts directly.

Conditions

The tribunal grants exequatur if all of the following are met (art. 1104(1) with art. 1096(1)):

• the judgment is final (definitivă) under the law of the state where it was given;
• the foreign court had jurisdiction under its own law, and that jurisdiction was not based solely on the defendant's presence or on assets unrelated to the dispute;
• there is reciprocity between Romania and that state regarding the effects of foreign judgments;
• the judgment is enforceable under the law of the state of origin.

Reciprocity means that the state of origin gives Romanian judgments comparable effect. The Code makes it a condition the tribunal examines but does not say how it is proved, so for a US or other non-EU judgment it must be checked case by case, with evidence of the law and practice of the state of origin. The Civil Code allows the court to establish foreign law through attestations from that state's authorities or an expert opinion, and the party relying on foreign law may be required to prove its content (Civil Code, art. 2562(1) and (2)).

For a default judgment, it must also be shown that the losing party received the summons and the claim in time and could defend itself and appeal (art. 1096(2)).

Defences

Recognition and exequatur may be refused (art. 1097(1), applied by art. 1104(2)) on the grounds listed below, which omit lit. b) (judgments obtained to evade the applicable law in matters where the parties cannot freely dispose of their rights), a ground that rarely arises in a debt case:

• lit. a): manifest breach of Romanian private international law public policy;
• lit. c): the same dispute between the same parties was decided by a Romanian court, even by a judgment that is not yet final, or was pending before a Romanian court when the foreign court was seised;
• lit. d): irreconcilability with an earlier recognisable foreign judgment;
• lit. e): exclusive jurisdiction of the Romanian courts;
• lit. f): breach of the right of defence;
• lit. g): the judgment can still be challenged in the state where it was given.

The tribunal may not examine the merits or change the judgment (art. 1098). A foreign judgment imposing obligations under a foreign tax law also requires reciprocity (art. 1109).

Documents

The application must be accompanied by a copy of the judgment, proof that it is final, proof of enforceability issued by the court that gave it, for a default judgment proof that the absent party was served with the summons and the claim in time, and any other document showing that the conditions are met (art. 1100(1) and art. 1105). The documents need a certified translation by an authorised translator into Romanian and must be legalised under art. 1093, but legalisation is not needed where the parties agree to the filing of certified copies (art. 1100(2)). Legalisation can be dispensed with by law, treaty or reciprocity (art. 1093(3)). Romania has been a party to the 1961 Hague Apostille Convention since 16 March 2001, as have, among others, the United States, the United Kingdom, Switzerland, India and China (HCCH status table), so an apostille usually replaces the chain of legalisation. If a document is missing, the tribunal may set a deadline, accept equivalent documents or dispense with them (art. 1100(3)).

Procedure and result

The tribunal decides after summoning both parties and may grant exequatur for separable claims only (art. 1106(1) and (2)). An amount in foreign currency is converted into lei at the exchange rate of the day the judgment became enforceable in the state of origin; until conversion, interest on the amount follows the law of the foreign court (art. 1106(4)). Once the exequatur decision is final, an enforceable title is issued under Romanian law (art. 1107). Enforcement then proceeds through a bailiff, who must still obtain the enforcement court's approval of enforcement (art. 666(1)), a separate step from exequatur.

Filing for recognition interrupts the limitation period for the right to obtain enforcement (art. 1101). Recognition alone, to rely on the judgment as res judicata (the binding effect of a decided case, which bars the same dispute being litigated again), can also be decided as an incidental question in other proceedings (art. 1099(3)).

Foreign arbitral awards

Which awards

A foreign arbitral award is any domestic or international award made in another state and not treated as a Romanian award (Civil Procedure Code, art. 1124). Because Brussels Ia excludes arbitration (art. 1(2)(d)), an award seated in Vienna follows the same route as one seated in London or Singapore.

Romania acceded to the New York Convention with effect from 12 December 1961, with declarations limiting it to awards from other contracting states (non-contracting states only on reciprocity) and to relationships considered commercial under Romanian law (UNCITRAL status table, declarations (a), (b) and (c)). Romania must enforce such awards without substantially more onerous conditions or higher fees than domestic awards (New York Convention, art. III).

Procedure before the tribunal

The application for recognition and enforcement is filed with the tribunal (tribunalul) for the domicile or seat of the party against whom the award is invoked, or with Bucharest Tribunal if that cannot be determined (art. 1126). You may ask for recognition only, to rely on the award as res judicata, or for exequatur where the award has not been performed voluntarily (art. 1127(1)).

You file the award and the arbitration agreement, in original or copy, legalised under art. 1093 (which an apostille usually satisfies), with a certified Romanian translation (art. 1128; New York Convention, art. IV). An award is recognised and enforceable if the dispute is arbitrable under Romanian law and the award contains nothing contrary to Romanian private international law public policy (art. 1125). The tribunal decides after summoning the parties, and its decision can be challenged only by an appeal (apel), which is heard by the court of appeal (curtea de apel) (art. 1131(1); art. 96 pt. 2). It cannot examine the merits of the dispute (art. 1133).

The debtor's defences

The tribunal refuses recognition or enforcement only if the debtor proves one of the grounds that mirror art. V(1) of the New York Convention (art. 1129):

• incapacity of a party, or an invalid arbitration agreement;
• no proper notice of the arbitrators' appointment or of the proceedings, or inability to present its case;
• matters outside the arbitration agreement (separable parts within it can be enforced);
• a tribunal or procedure not in line with the parties' agreement or, failing that, the law of the seat;
• an award not yet binding, or set aside or suspended where, or under whose law, it was made.

If set-aside proceedings are pending at the seat, the tribunal may suspend the Romanian case and, at your request, order the debtor to provide security (art. 1130; New York Convention, art. VI). For arbitration seated in Romania, see our guide to commercial arbitration in Romania.

What can go wrong

• Service abroad. Defective service on the Romanian debtor is a common defence against default judgments and awards. Keep the proof of service.
• Reciprocity. For non-EU judgments, gather evidence early of how the state of origin treats Romanian judgments.
• Pending challenges. A non-EU judgment still open to challenge abroad can be refused (art. 1097(1) lit. g), the last defence listed above); an award under set-aside challenge may lead to suspension (art. 1130).
• Insolvency. If the debtor enters insolvency, individual enforcement gives way to the insolvency proceedings; see our article on filing a claim when a Romanian debtor becomes insolvent.
• Costs. See our article on litigation and enforcement costs.

When to take advice

The route and the strength of the debtor's defences depend on the state of origin, when the proceedings started, how the debtor was served and where its assets are. We act for foreign creditors and their home-country counsel in recognition and exequatur proceedings in Romania and in enforcement through Romanian bailiffs. We describe our collection work on the debt collection page and our litigation work on the commercial litigation page; the overall picture is in our guide to debt recovery in Romania.

In a first e-mail to office@pantilimon.ro, send the judgment or award, the contract, the invoices, the correspondence, the debtor's name and registration number, and any clause on courts or arbitration. Our fees are agreed in writing before work starts.

This article is general information and is not advice for a specific case; it is based on Romanian law as at 2 November 2026.