Is It A No To Lugano?

One of the many unanswered questions litigators face post-Brexit is whether English judgments will be enforceable across the EU. Part of that revolves around a thorny debate over whether the UK will be allowed to re-join the Lugano Convention.

The Lugano Convention is an international treaty which has existed in one form or another since 1988 when the EU (including the UK) reached an agreement with EFTA states over common rules for jurisdiction and enforcement. Lugano is heavily based on the old Brussels Regulation and broadly provides, with some exceptions, that judgments made in one state will be recognised in another. Since 1988, 16 states have joined the EU with only one departing and for the first time, the accession provisions in the convention are being pored over.