The Saint Petersburg Commercial Court recently ruled in favor of Viavi Solutions Deutschland GmbH, enforcing a 2021 judgement from the Stuttgart Regional Court against Russian company Vilcom SPB. The original court decision mandated Vilcom SPB to pay Viavi Solutions over EUR 85,000 and EUR 68,000 plus interest and costs.
Significantly, the Russian court rejected Vilcom SPB's defense that enforcing the German judgement would violate Russian public policy due to sanctions. The court explicitly refuted the presumption of bad faith from an "unfriendly" jurisdiction, underscoring the principles of international comity and reciprocity in judgement enforcement and dismissing arguments about public policy violation as unfounded and unsubstantiated.
This landmark ruling has far-reaching implications, particularly for reciprocal recognition of judgements between Russia and Germany. German law (§ 328 German Civil Procedure Code) operates on a presumption of reciprocity unless proven otherwise. Historically, German courts have declined to recognize Russian judgements citing a lack of reciprocal recognition from Russia. This new precedent, however, could potentially shift the legal landscape.
Vilcom SPB has filed a cassation appeal, with proceedings scheduled for April 2025. The outcome of this appeal will be crucial in determining the long-term impact of this decision and its potential to influence future cases. The situation bears close monitoring, as it introduces a new layer of complexity to cross-border legal enforcement amidst ongoing geopolitical tensions.