Civil Procedure and Enforcement
What the exam tests
This domain asks you to assess jurisdiction, the formal validity of a claim, the course of the hearing, the effect of judgments, and the enforcement of enforceable titles.
Contested procedure
- Subject-matter jurisdiction allocates cases between Basic Courts, the Commercial Court and the Administrative Court; territorial jurisdiction generally follows the defendant's domicile; value determines composition and fee.
- A claim must identify the parties, state the facts and legal basis, contain a specific request, offer evidence and be signed; court fees are paid on filing.
- Procedural preconditions: capacity, standing, legal interest, absence of res judicata and of a valid arbitration clause.
- The claimant bears the burden of proving the facts it asserts; the court may take limited evidence of its own motion.
- A reasoned judgment acquires res judicata once the appeal period lapses; appeal goes to the Court of Appeals, revision to the Supreme Court on limited grounds, and retrial is exceptional.
Enforcement
Enforcement requires an enforceable title: final judgment, court settlement or notarial document. Private enforcement agents seize salary, bank accounts and movables and sell immovables. The debtor may file an objection within the statutory period, which stays enforcement only in the cases the law allows.
Worked example
A claimant sues for a debt already paid before filing. The defendant proves the payment; the claim is dismissed on the merits because the right no longer exists, not for lack of jurisdiction. Costs follow the losing party.
Traps that cost marks
- Confusing material and territorial jurisdiction.
- Filing an appeal out of time, making it inadmissible regardless of merits.
- Using an objection in enforcement as if it were an appeal on the merits.
- Overlooking res judicata as an absolute procedural bar.