Order of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 5 May 2022

1. Judicial cooperation in civil mattersService of judicial and extrajudicial documentsRegulation No 1393/2007Refusal to accept a documentRight conferred on the addressee of the document under certain conditionsObligation on the receiving agency to inform that addressee of his or her right through the standard form in Annex II to that RegulationNo discretionDocument written in or accompanied by a translation into one of the languages referred to in the regulationIrrelevant

(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1393/2007, Recital 12 and Arts 8(1) and 14 and Annex II)

(see paras 25, 29-32, 34-40, operative part 1)

2. Judicial cooperation in civil mattersService of judicial and extrajudicial documentsRegulation No 1393/2007Service without informing the addressee of a document of his or her right to refuse to accept that document using the standard form set out in Annex II resulting in the invalidity of that serviceUnlawfulWhether or not invalidity must be invoked within a specified periodIrrelevant

(European Parliament and Council Regulation No 1393/2007, Art. 8(1) and Annex II)

(see paras 44-46, 48, operative part 2)

Operative part

1. Article 8(1) of Regulation (EC) No 1393/2007 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 November 2007 on the service in the Member States of judicial and extrajudicial documents in civil or commercial matters (‘service of documents’), and repealing Council Regulation (EC) No 1348/2000, must be interpreted as requiring that the addressee of a judicial document to be served in another Member State be informed in all circumstances, by means of the standard form in Annex II to that Regulation, of his or her right to refuse to accept the document, including where it is written in or accompanied by a translation into a language which the addressee understands or into the official language or one of the official languages of the place where service is to be effected.

2. Regulation No 1393/2007 is to be interpreted as precluding national legislation which provides that the service of a judicial document in another Member State is invalid where that service has been effected without the addressee of that document having been informed, by means of the standard form set out in Annex II to that regulation, of his or her right to refuse to accept the document if it is not written in or accompanied by a translation into one of the languages referred to in Article 8(1) of that Regulation, irrespective of whether or not those national rules establish a particular period within which the addressee must lodge a plea of invalidity of service.