In two stages. Switzerland is outside the EU, so the 2007 Lugano Convention applies rather than Brussels Ia: a Slovak court must first declare the judgment enforceable before an enforcement application can be filed. You need the judgment, an Annex V certificate from the court of origin and, if requested by the court, a certified translation of the necessary documents. This procedure must be completed before final recovery; however, provisional and protective measures under Article 47 may protect assets at an earlier stage.
You won a case in a Swiss court and the debtor has assets in Slovakia. The judgment alone, however, is not a Slovak enforceable title: an enforcement officer can act on it only after separate proceedings. The same procedure applies to judgments from Norway and Iceland.
Why sending the judgment to an enforcement officer is not enough
Judgments from EU states fall under Brussels Ia, Regulation (EU) No. 1215/2012, which makes a judgment directly enforceable in another Member State without a separate declaration of enforceability. Switzerland is not an EU member; relations with it are governed by the 2007 Lugano Convention on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters, known as Lugano II, binding the EU, Switzerland, Norway and Iceland. It retains the older mechanism: before enforcement, the judgment must be declared enforceable in the enforcing state, known as exequatur (Article 38 et seq. of the Convention).
The international treaty takes precedence over Slovak legislation (Section 2 of Act No. 97/1963 Coll. on Private International Law and Procedure). Domestic procedural rules apply, with the necessary adjustments, to the proceedings before the Slovak court:
Provisions concerning proceedings for recognition of a foreign decision by a separate operative ruling also apply, with the necessary adjustments, to proceedings […] on an application to declare a foreign decision enforceable or unenforceable in the Slovak Republic by a separate operative ruling.
— Section 68h(2) of Act No. 97/1963 Coll. (unofficial English translation)
Step one: declaration of enforceability
An application to declare the Swiss judgment enforceable is filed with a Slovak court. The required attachments are governed primarily by Articles 53 to 55 of the Lugano Convention: a copy of the judgment satisfying the conditions necessary to establish its authenticity and an Annex V certificate from the court of origin. If the certificate is not produced, the court may, under Article 55, specify a time for its production, accept an equivalent document or dispense with its production if it has sufficient information. A certified translation is submitted if requested by the court; the Convention does not impose it as an unconditional requirement for every application.
In the initial phase under Article 41, the debtor is not entitled to make submissions; the debtor may challenge the declaration of enforceability by lodging an appeal. Final recovery must be distinguished from protecting assets: Article 47 permits provisional and protective measures even before the declaration of enforceability and allows protective measures during the period for appeal and while an appeal is being determined.
Step two: enforcement
Only with a final declaration of enforceability does the Swiss judgment become a basis for enforcement. The enforcement application is filed electronically, and the court decision declaring enforceability must accompany the foreign enforceable title (Section 48(5) of the Enforcement Code). A single enforcement court decides applications for the whole of Slovakia:
The Banská Bystrica District Court has subject-matter jurisdiction over enforcement proceedings.
— Section 49 of Act No. 233/1995 Coll. (unofficial English translation)
What to consider when preparing
Calculate precisely what the judgment awarded to you: principal, interest and costs. Items awarded to the state of the court of origin are not part of your recovery against the debtor. The certified translation of the judgment is often the largest individual preparation cost, so clarify its scope in advance. Before the first filing, it is also worth checking whether the debtor has Slovak assets available for enforcement at all; otherwise the entire two-stage process makes no economic sense.
If your debtor is based in the EU, see also the European order for payment: a simpler tool exists for uncontested claims within the Union.
How we can help
We handle the entire process from certification to enforcement through cross-border debt recovery, including coordination with foreign counsel and translators. We prepare and file both the application for a declaration of enforceability and the subsequent enforcement application through enforcement proceedings. If the debtor challenges the declaration of enforceability, we provide representation in the proceedings.
If you have a Swiss judgment and a debtor with Slovak assets, send us the judgment for an initial assessment. We will explain which documents are needed and in what order.
This answer provides general information on the law as at 10 September 2026. It does not constitute legal services or replace an assessment of an individual case. The details of your situation may differ. Book a consultation to discuss them.
