European Payment Order

What We Offer

What we are able to offer is the issuance of the European Order for payment (EOP), a procedure which applies to all civil and commercial matters in cases where at least one of the parties lives in an EU country different from the one where the application for an order is made.

In a nutshell the application process reads as follows:
• The regulation includes a standard form to apply to a court for an EOP.
• The claim must be for a specific amount which is due at the time the application is submitted.
• The jurisdiction of courts is determined by the rules set out in Regulation (EC) No 1215/2012.
• The court to which an application has been made considers whether the various conditions have been met (the cross-border nature of the case in civil and commercial matters, the jurisdiction of the court, etc.) as soon as possible, as well as whether the claim appears to be well-founded.
• The court must inform the applicant of its reasons for rejecting a claim. In that case, there is no right of appeal, but the claimant may make a new application for an EOP or use another procedure available under the law of an EU country.
• the defendant was prevented from objecting to the claim by reason of force majeure or due to extraordinary circumstances,
• the order for payment was clearly wrongly issued.

If the court rejects the defendant’s application, the EOP remains in force. If, on the other hand, the court decides that the review is justified, the EOP becomes null and void.

Our Services

Issuing an EOP

• If the conditions are met, the court issues the EOP as soon as possible and normally within 30 days of the lodging of the application.
• An EOP is issued solely on the basis of the information provided by the claimant if the claim appears to be well-founded.
• Unless the defendant lodges a statement of opposition with the court issuing it, it is automatically recognised and enforced in other EU countries without any further possibility of opposing its recognition.
• Enforcement procedures are governed by the national law of the EU country in which the enforcement of the EOP is requested.
• Serving an EOP on a defendant
• An EOP is served on a defendant in accordance with the national law of the country in which it is served. The possible methods of serving the EOP, either with or without proof of receipt by the defendant, are set out in the regulation.

Opposing an EOP

• The defendant may lodge a statement of opposition with the court that issued the order for payment. This must be sent within 30 days of service of the EOP.
• When a defendant lodges a statement of opposition, ordinary civil proceedings continue before the competent courts of the EU country in which the EOP was issued, unless the claimant does not want to continue proceedings.
• The defendant may apply for a review of the EOP before the competent court after the expiry of the 30-day time limit for lodging a statement of opposition, if:
• the order for payment was served without acknowledgement of receipt by the defendant and not in sufficient time to prepare a defence.

• The European Payment Order is a simplified procedure for cross-border pecuniary claims that are not disputed by the defendant on the basis of standardized forms.
• The regulation creates a European order for payment procedure for claims not contested by the defendant. This simplifies, speeds up and reduces the costs of litigation in cases involving more than one EU country.
• It also permits the free circulation of European orders for payment which are recognised and enforced in all EU countries.
• It applies to all EU countries except Denmark.

How We Can Help

The Regulation entered into force on 12 December 2008; therefore you should trust us with the procedure of issuing a European Order of Payment which in terms of judicial regulation involves the following:

KEY-POINTS OF THE PROCEDURE
The European Order of Payment applies to all civil and commercial cases in all those situations where one of the counter-litigants resides in a different EU country other the one of his/ her counter-party.

Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006

LEGAL BASIS
Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2006 creating a European order for payment procedure (OJ L 399, 30.12.2006, pp. 1–32).
The Regulation entered into force as of December 12, 2008
A number of successive amendments to Regulation (EC) No 1896/2006 have occurred and have been incorporated in the initial text; this last updated version is the one to be taken into consideration.

SUPPORTING LEGISLATION
The Report prepared in terms of the Commission intended towards the European Parliament, the Council and the European Economic and Social Committee on the application of Regulation (EC) 1896/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council bringing into life a European Order for Payment Procedure (COM(2015) 495 final of 13.10.2015)