Violation of Public Policy as a Ground for Non-Recognition of Foreign Judgments – The Case of Judgments Preceded by a Mareva-Type Freezing Order

This note examines a ruling by the Corte di Cassazione concerning procedural public policy as a ground for non-recognition of foreign judgments. The Corte di Cassazione held that a foreign judgment may not be denied recognition in Italy on the sole ground that the court of origin previously granted an in personam interim measure restraining the respondent from dealing with its assets, whereas, under Italian law, asset preservation measures necessarily operate in rem. According to the Court, the public policy defence can only succeed if the proceedings before the court of origin, considered as a whole, were tainted by a serious violation of fundamental procedural rights. Having found no evidence of such a violation in the circumstances, the Court concluded that the foreign judgment concerned was eligible for recognition. The ruling of the Corte di Cassazione confirms of the restrictive approach to public policy which the Court itself developed throughout its previous case law, and will plausibly serve as a model for future decisions regarding procedural public policy.