Article of B. Musseva on the legal interest in the exequatur proceedings

The last issue of the review „Savremenno pravo“ contains an article of Boriana Musseva devoted to the legal interest in the exequatur proceedings. The aim of this article is to determine the circle of persons, who are entitled to request a declaration of recognition and enforcement of a foreign judgment pursuant to the European and to the domestic Bulgarian law. The paper argues that a functional approach for determining the interested party is to be followed. It is grounded on the suggestion that the courts in the state addressed should not consider their national law to define who is entitled to seek exequatur of the foreign judgment. They have to assess the applicant’s interest under the law of the state of origin. The effect of the foreign judgment and of the legal relationship should be decisive. In doing so the circle of “interested parties” will not be limited to those participated in the original process. The courts of the state address should act flexible in order to meet this requirement.