Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber) of 15 April 2021.

TKF v Department of Justice for Northern Ireland.

Reference for a preliminary ruling – Judicial cooperation in civil matters – Recognition and enforcement of decisions in matters relating to maintenance obligations – Regulation (EC) No 4/2009 – Temporal scope – Article 75 – Decisions given by a court of a Member State prior to accession to the European Union.

Case C-729/19.

… the Court (Third Chamber) hereby rules:

1.      Article 75(2)(a) of 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 must be interpreted as applying only to decisions given by national courts in States which were already members of the European Union on the date of adoption of those decisions.

2.      Regulation No 4/2009 must be interpreted as meaning that no provision of that regulation enables decisions in matters relating to maintenance obligations, given in a State before its accession to the European Union and before the date of application of that regulation, to be recognised and enforced, after that State’s accession to the European Union, in another Member State.

 Marco Calabrese is an International Family Law Attorney and Collaborative Law Attorney shortlisted by the US and UK Embassy in Rome Owner of the Family Law Italy, a boutique law firm, located in Rome, Italy.

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