Recognition and Enforcement of U.S. Judgments in Italy

No treaty, one statute

Italy and the United States are not parties to a bilateral convention on the recognition of judgments. Neither is the United States a party to the 2005 or 2019 Hague Conventions on judgments. As a result, an American creditor seeking to enforce a U.S. judgment in Italy must proceed under articles 64–67 of Italian Law 218/1995 — the same domestic regime that applies to any third-country decision.

The six substantive conditions

• 01The U.S. court had jurisdiction under principles equivalent to those of the Italian legal order.
• 02The defendant was properly served according to the law of the state of origin and in a manner allowing the exercise of a defence.
• 03The adversarial principle was respected.
• 04The judgment is final and has res judicata effect in the United States.
• 05The judgment is not incompatible with a prior Italian judgment on the same matter.
• 06The judgment does not contravene Italian public policy.

The punitive damages question

For many years, Italian public policy was understood to exclude any recognition of U.S. judgments awarding punitive damages. The Italian Supreme Court (Corte di Cassazione) revisited this position in its 2017 Sez. Un. no. 16601 decision, holding that punitive damages are not intrinsically contrary to Italian public policy — provided the awarding U.S. court applied a legislative basis, respected proportionality, and did not exceed what a reasonable defendant could foresee.

In practice, punitive components are examined on a case-by-case basis and are typically enforceable only where the awarding court set out a clear reasoning grid.

Procedural mechanics in Italy

Where recognition is not automatic (or is contested), the creditor files a ricorso before the competent Italian Court of Appeal. The application must be accompanied by (i) an authenticated copy of the U.S. judgment, (ii) an apostille (or consular legalization where applicable), (iii) a certified Italian translation, and (iv) evidence that the judgment is final under U.S. law.

Cost efficiency

Because the exequatur is not a re-litigation of the merits, well-prepared files typically obtain a decision within 12 to 18 months. Enforcement measures (asset attachment, real estate seizure) become available immediately upon a favourable decree of the Court of Appeal.