Recognition of foreign instruments in international law and domestic law of states

Rules on the recognition of documents and exceptions to these rules have existed since the Middle Ages and can still be observed in state practice today. However, this issue can be approached from several angles. Recognising a document involves determining whether it has evidentiary force, and whether this force can be acquired through authentication processes. It also involves determining the formal and substantive effectiveness of the action reflected in the document's contents, according to the relevant conflict of laws norms (private international law). While this issue has been widely researched in the context of international civil procedure, it is neglected in other proceedings (e.g. administrative or criminal). Therefore, it is important to examine this issue in both domestic and international law. The content of international agreements (legal aid agreements) is particularly important in this context, as is the recognition of foreign court decisions, which are also examined in the research. It goes without saying that the research team also undertakes an analysis of the impact of EU legislation on the recognition of foreign judgments. EU countries still have national rules in this area, which apply to judgments from countries outside the EU. This topic also touches on the issue of the so-called exclusive jurisdiction of local courts, which is now severely limited by European law. Furthermore, public policy provisions remain important in the context of the acceptance of foreign court judgments. The research project aims to study this issue in depth from a comparative legal point of view. It involves lawyers from other Central European countries (Hungary, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, Serbia and Slovenia), as well as Polish members. The project will provide an overview of the norms in force in the region and present the models of document recognition used in different countries.