ABSTRACT
The overall success of the Brussels Convention in its difficult and ambitious task of harmonising the various national rules on jurisdiction and the enforcement of foreign judgments is well attested by the recent entry into force of the parallel Lugano Convention governing the European Union and European Free Trade Association countries. The Brussels Convention has undoubtedly proved a great success in establishing a pragmatic and schematic approach both to the ascription of international jurisdictional competence, and the recognition and enforcement of judgments throughout the Contracting States. The central aims of the Brussels Convention are to avoid conflicting decisions and to simplify recognition and enforcement of judgments. Additionally, as the Rome Convention, in contradistinction to the Brussels Convention, is not based on art. 220 of the Treaty of Rome, the First Brussels Protocol 1988 does not impose an obligation on any national courts to refer questions of interpretation to the European Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling.
