London

Hong Kong

Greenwich

New York

Geneva

Milan

New Haven

Enforcing foreign judgments:the position in England & Wales

Christopher Coffin,

Partner and Head of Withers’ International

Litigation Practice Group

Enforcement in England & Wales

• Enforcement of a foreign court judgment requires recognition

• Methods of enforcement available include:

• Execution against goods (seize and sell assets)

• Charging order on land, real estate & shares, followed by sale

• Attachment of debts, eg bank account balances

• Attachment of earnings of salaried individual

• Equitable execution, a court appointed receiver over future income

stream (eg royalties)

The regimes for recognition & enforcement

Three regimes for enforcing foreign judgments in England & Wales

1. EU & EFTA registration systems

2. Statutory codes and multi-lateral or bilateral conventions

3. English common law will recognize and enforce foreign

judgments in the absence of any treaty or convention with the

originating state – applicable to Russian Federation

NB: Separate regime for arbitration awards

The English common law approach

• Recognition and enforcement NOT based on reciprocity

• The doctrine of obligation: a properly given judgment creates an

obligation which the English court will recognize and, in

appropriate cases, enforce

• Conditions for enforcement:• Original court is of ‘competent jurisdiction’

• A final & conclusive judgment

• For a fixed sum, not being a tax or penalty

• Conditions for recognition

Procedure for enforcement under common law

• New proceedings issued in the High Court for repayment of the

debt created by the Russian judgment

• Service of claim on defendant within 4 months if in England &

Wales, or within 6 months if not

• Permission required to serve defendant outside EU

• Defendant has 14 to 28 days to respond to claim

• If no response - default judgment available

• If defended - summary judgment available

• Legal costs & interest on judgment recoverable

A court of competent jurisdiction

• A court of any level

• Jurisdiction is assessed by English rules

• Two heads of jurisdiction – either will suffice

• Submission by the judgment debtor to the jurisdiction of the

original court

OR

• Sufficient territorial connection between the judgment

debtor and the original court.

A court of competent jurisdiction - submission

Did the judgment debtor submit to the jurisdiction of the original court?

• Submission by appearance

• Claimed, appeared, defended or counterclaimed

• But not if only to contest jurisdiction, request court to decline

jurisdiction or to protect property (s33 CJJA 1982)

• Submission by agreement

• specific & express consent

A court of competent jurisdiction - connection

• The presence of the judgment debtor within the territorial

jurisdiction of the original court at the time proceedings started

• For an individual – voluntary presence within the territory

• For a company – direct or indirect presence within territory: indirect

only through an agent empowered to contract on behalf of the

company.

• For federal states – where is this presence required to be?