Realchemie v. Bayer, European Court of Justice, 18 October 2011

The Court of Justice of the European Union in clarifying the phrase 'civil and commercial matters' in Article 1 of the Brussels I Regulation (No 44/2001) ruled that said Regulation is also applicable to court decisions that contain an order to pay penalties to ensure compliance with a judgment given in a civil and commercial matter (§ 51). Furthermore it ruled that Article 14 of the Enforcement Directive (2004/48/EC) is applicable to the costs related to an exequatur procedure, since this is consistent with both the general goal of the Enforcement Directive as well as with the specific aim of Article 14.

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