In the Conflict of Laws, issues relevant to the enforcement of foreign judgments are frequently regulated by bilateral treaty or multilateral international convention to facilitate the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments between states. This area of judicial process is growing in importance. For the private citizen enjoying the right to travel more freely between states, the development of the internet and e-commerce in an increasingly globalised set of markets means that individuals routinely buy goods, incur debts and suffer loss and injury across state borders. For consumer groups, human rights advocates, intellectual property rights holders, and multinational corporations, the continuing reliance on a fragmented system of territorial boundaries for establishing jurisdiction, is presenting a new range of problems that can only be resolved by harmonising laws and standardising remedies. Private international law comprises provisions of national law regarding contracts and lawsuits involving foreign laws or jurisdictions. ... A judgment or judgement, in a legal context, is synonymous with the formal decision made by a court following legal proceedings. ... Bilateralism is a term referring to trade or political relations between two states. ... A treaty is a binding agreement under international law concluded by subjects of international law, namely states and international organizations. ... Multilateralism is an international relations term that refers to multiple countries working in concert. ... Convention has at least two very distinct but related meanings. ... For the purposes of Public International Law and Private International Law, a state is a defined group of people, living within defined territorial boundaries and subject, more or less, to an autonomous legal system exercising jurisdiction through properly constituted courts. ... Electronic commerce or e-commerce consists of the buying, selling, marketing, and servicing of products or services over computer networks. ... Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... In law, particularly in common law jurisdictions, intellectual property is a form of legal entitlement which allows its holder to control the use of certain intangible ideas and expressions. ... A multinational corporation (MNC) or multinational enterprise (MNE) or transnational corporation (TNC) is an corporation/enterprise that manages production establishments located in at least two countries. ... In law, jurisdiction refers to the aspect of a any unique legal authority as being localized within boundaries. ... In international law, harmonisation refers to the process by which different states adopt the same laws. ... In law, a Judicial remedy is the means by which a court, usually in the exercise of civil law jurisdiction, enforces a right, imposes a penalty, or makes some other court order. ...

Definition of terms

The "recognition" of a foreign judgment occurs when the court of one state accepts a judicial decision made by the courts of another state as in rem and so precludes the relitigation of a claim on the same facts on the ground of res judicata and/or collateral estoppel. Once the judgment is recognised, the party who was successful in the original case can then seek its "enforcement". If it was a money judgment and the debtor has assets in the second jurisdiction, the judgment creditor has access to all the enforcement remedies as if the case had originated in that second state. If some other form of judgment was obtained, e.g. affecting status, granting injunctive relief, etc., the second court will make whatever orders are appropriate to make the first judgment effective. In doing so, the states are relying on the principle of reciprocity which requires equal respect shown to judgments made by two different sets of courts, i.e. the courts of both states must treat the judgments as equally binding and enforceable in the two jurisdictions. A court is an official, public forum which a public power establishes by lawful authority to adjudicate disputes, and to dispense civil, labour, administrative and criminal justice under the law. ... Sometimes a court may exercise jurisdiction over property located within the perimeter of its powers without regard to personal jurisdiction over the litigants; this is called jurisdiction in rem. ... Res judicata (from res iudicata, Latin for a thing decided), more commonly res judicata in legal usage, is a common law doctrine meant to bar relitigation of cases between the same parties in court. ... Collateral estoppel, also sometimes known as issue preclusion, is a common law estoppel doctrine that prevents a person from relitigating an issue. ... A party is a person or group of persons that compose a single entity which can be identified as one for the purposes of the law. ... An injunction is an equitable remedy in the form of a court order that either prohibits or compels (enjoins or restrains) a party from continuing a particular activity. ... In international relations and treaties, the principle of reciprocity states that favours, benefits, or penalties that are granted by one state to the citizens or legal entities of another, should be returned in kind. ...

Explanation

If the relevant states are not parties to the Hague Convention on Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters ¹, the EC Convention on Jurisdiction and the Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters ² or a similar treaty or convention providing for the routine of registration and enforcement between states, the courts of most states will accept jurisdiction to hear cases for the recognition and enforcement of judgments awarded by the courts of another state if the defendant or relevant assets are physically located within their territorial boundaries. Whether recognition will be given is determined by the lex fori, i.e. the domestic law of the local court and the principles of comity. The following issues are considered: In law, jurisdiction refers to the aspect of a any unique legal authority as being localized within boundaries. ... A defendant is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute. ... Lex fori is a private international law doctrine meaning the law of the court in which proceedings are being conducted. ... Aphorism Critical legal studies Jurisprudence Law (principle) Legal research Letter versus Spirit List of legal abbreviations Legal code Natural justice Natural law Philosophy of law Religious law External links Find more information on Law by searching one of Wikipedias sibling projects: Wikibooks Wikiversity has more about this subject: School... Comity is a term used in international law (and in the law governing relations between U.S. states) to describe an informal principle that nations will extend certain courtesies to other nations, particularly by recognizing the validity and effect of their executive, legislative, and judicial acts. ...

• whether the foreign court properly accepted personal jurisdiction over the defendant;
• whether the defendant was properly served with notice of the proceedings and given a reasonable opportunity to be heard which raises general principles of natural justice and will frequently be judged by international standards (hence, the rules for service on a non-resident defendant outside the jurisdiction must match general standards and the fact that the first instance court's rules were followed will be irrelevant if the international view is that the local system is unjust);
• whether the proceedings were tainted with fraud; and
• whether the judgment offends the public policy of the local state.

There is a general reluctance to enforce foreign judgments which involve multiple or punitive damages. In this context, it is noted that the U.S. is not a signatory to any treaty or convention and there are no proposals for this judicial isolationism to change. When it comes to seeking the enforcement of U.S. judgments in foreign courts, many states are uncomfortable with the amount of money damages awarded by U.S. courts which consistently exceed the compensation available in those states. Further, the fact that the U.S. courts sometimes claim extraterritorial jurisdiction offends other states' conceptions of sovereignty. Consequently, it can be difficult to persuade some courts to enforce some U.S. judgments. A defendant is any party who is required to answer the complaint of a plaintiff in a civil lawsuit before a court, or any party who has been formally charged or accused of violating a criminal statute. ... The doctrine of natural justice is founded in the notion that logical reasoning may allow the determination of just, or fair, processes in legal proceedings. ... Public policy or ordre public is the body of fundamental principles that underpin the operation of legal systems in each state. ... Damages, in law has two different meanings. ... Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise supreme authority over a geographic region, group of people or oneself. ...

Enforcement of foreign judgments in the U.S.

The holder of a foreign judgment, decree or order must file suit before a competent court in the U.S. which will determine whether to give effect to the foreign judgment relying on the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act, 13 U.L.A. 261 (1986) and the Uniform Foreign Money-Judgments Recognition Act, 13 U.L.A. 149 (1986).

N.B The U.S. is a signatory to international conventions regulating the enforcement of arbitration awards, viz, the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards, 21 UST 2517; TIAS 6997; 330 UNTS 3, and the Inter-American Convention on International Commercial Arbitration, 14 I.L.M. 336 (1975).

External links

• Note 1: Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters
• Note 2: Council Regulation (EC) No. 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters