1. FROM DOWN UNDER ALL THE WAY TO THE EUROPEAN UNION – A COMPARATIVE LEGAL ANALYSIS OF THE ENFORCEMENT OF AUSTRALIAN EXEMPLARY DAMAGES IN THE EU.
- Author
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DE BRUYNE, JAN and VANLEENHOVE, CEDRIC
- Subjects
EXEMPLARY damages ,LAW enforcement - Abstract
When an Australian court grants exemplary damages, the defendant must pay this amount to the plaintiff. If the defendant is unwilling to pay, the judgment needs to be enforced against his assets. However, if the debtor has no or insufficient assets in Australia, enforcement might have to take place abroad, for instance in the European Union (EU) Member State where the judgment-debtor does have assets. The authors use several examples ranging from ‘defective’ products to sport injuries to discuss the intercontinental enforcement of the remedy of exemplary damages. The article first examines to what extent and under which circumstances exemplary damages are available in Australia. The answer to this question subsequently paves the way for the far more prominent issue regarding the enforcement of exemplary damages in the EU Member States. The analysis shows that this can be problematic considering that the traditional stance in the EU with regard to the enforcement of exemplary damages is one of hostility and aversion. There are, however, signs of acceptance in some EU countries. The article discusses the current position in five important EU Member States: Germany, Italy, Spain, France and England. When enforcement of the Australian judgment containing exemplary damages in Europe becomes necessary, the victim’s chances (as far as the exemplary damages are concerned) thus depend on the location of the wrongdoer(‘s assets). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
- Published
- 2017