recognition of foreign judgments

Recognition of a judgment made in a foreign jurisdiction in England is the process whereby an English Court will determine whether, in accordance with principles of private international law, that the foreign judgment should properly be given legal force and effect in England. There are two reasons why a party to litigation in England may wish to apply to have such a judgment recognised by an English Court.

Firstly, the litigant may wish to enforce the judgment in England. That is, execute the judgment against the assets of the defendant located in England.

Alternately, a litigant may wish to have the judgment recognised in England for the purposes of avoiding re-litigation of the same dispute which is the subject of the foreign judgment on the basis that the dispute in the foreign litigation is res judicata. In either the judgment must be recognised by an English Court.

In the event that a foreign judgment is recognised, the Court may go on in an appropriate case to decide whether that judgment should be enforced in England. The judgment must be recognised before it is enforced.

In order for a judgment to be recognised in England:

1. The foreign court must have had jurisdiction over the defendant or the property which is the subject of the litigation. Usually, this means that the person or property was present within the jurisdictional bounds of the foreign court.
2. The foreign judgment must be final and conclusive on the merits of the case.

Accordingly, the foreign court must have (1) jurisdiction to hear and determine the dispute, (2) jurisdiction over the person or the property which is the subject of the dispute.

Usage: The judgment creditor applied for recognition of the foreign judgment so that the judgment debt may be recovered against assets owned by the debtor and located in England.

Related Words: enforcement of foreign judgments; cause of action estoppel.