Exequatur

Exequatur 

in international law:

(1) An authorization for a consular officer to perform his functions in his consular district in the state to which he is accredited. The exequatur is issued by the competent bodies of the country of destination when the officer presents his consular commission; it is issued in the form of a special document or sometimes a special notation made on the commission. In accordance with Soviet legislation, exequaturs are issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the USSR.

(2) An authorization for the compulsory execution in a given country of a judgment pronounced by a court in another country. The exequatur takes the form of a legal order by which a court acknowledges the legal force of a foreign court’s decision and extends the effect of the ruling to the territory of its own state. This type of exequatur is usually implemented by appellate courts.

Soviet legislation permits the recognition and execution of foreign court and arbitration judgments that are legally valid, do not conflict with Soviet sovereignty, and do not threaten the security of the USSR. It is required, however, that the USSR have concluded an appropriate agreement with the corresponding government or that the given legal area be governed by an international convention. The judgments must be presented to the Soviet court within three years from the time they are pronounced.

Exequaturs are not used in international legal relations between socialist countries. When necessary, decisions of foreign courts are carried out on the basis of agreements of legal assistance.