Judgement of Indian Court in England

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How to enforce Judgement of Indian Court in England / United Kingdom Judgement of Indian Court in England

Judgement of Indian Court in England A wide range of rules govern Judgement of Indian Court in Englandthe recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in England and ‘EU Rules
’ govern the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments obtained in EU member states Judgement of Indian Court in England.enforce Judgement of Indian Court in England The most recent example of these rules is the Recast Brussels Regulation (Regulation (EU) 1215/2012) for judgments given in proceedings which commenced on or after 10.01.2015.
For judgments obtained in Iceland, Norway and Switzerland (which are not part of the European Union, but are part of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA)), the relevant rules are found in the 2007 Lugano Convention.Judgement of Indian Court in England

In addition of these rules, there are various bilateral arrangements and conventions that the UK has been a part of.
The Administration of Justice Act 1920 applies to judgments obtained in the superior courts of various commonwealth countries and British Overseas Territories.

The Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933 applies to non-penal money judgments from specific jurisdictions that afford similar reciprocal treatment of UK judgments in their courts. This includes judgments obtained in India, Australia, Canada, Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man, Israel and Pakistan.Judgement of Indian Court in England

An order applying that Act to British India and Burma came into force on 18-11-1938 and was repealed by the Reciprocal Enforcements of Judgments (India) Order, 1953,
which came into force on 1-3-1953.
This latter order extended Part I of the Act to those territories of the Republic of India which are named in the schedule to the Order.
It was after the passing of the Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act, 1933, that a similar provision was enacted in the Civil Procedure Code by which Section 44-A was introduced.[1]

The Government of Great Britain extended Part I of the Foreign
judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act, 1933 to the territories of the Union of India and as per the provisions the following Courts shall be deemed to be superior courts of the said territories for the purposes of Part I of the said Act:
- All High Courts and Judicial Commissioners’ Courts
- All District Courts.
- All other courts whose civil jurisdiction is subject to no pecuniary limit provided that the judgment sought to be registered under the said Act is sealed with a seal showing that the jurisdiction of the courts is subject to no pecuniary limits — vide the Reciprocal Enforcement of judgments (India) Order, 1953″
- Judgement of Indian Court in England

The Government of India in exercise of the powers conferred by Explanation I to Section 44A CPC declared the United Kingdom of great Britain and Northern Ireland to be reciprocating territory for the purposes of the said section and the House of the Lords, the Court of Appeal[2]
, and High Court in England, and Court of Sessions in Scotland, the High Court in Northern Ireland, the Court of Chancery of the Country Palatine of Lancaster[3]
and the Court of Chancery of the Country Palatine of Darham[4]
to be the Superior Courts of that Territory, vide Central Government Notification Nos. 47 of 51, dated the 25th February, 1953, and 1st March 1953, respectively, published in the Gazette of India.

The Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments (India) Order, 1958[5] came into force on 01.04.1958, thereby revoking The Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments (India) Order, 1953.

Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act, 1933 (“FJA”), applicable to India, provides that an application should be made to register the foreign judgment debt within six years of the foreign judgment or, where the judgment has been subject to appeal, from the date of the last judgment in the foreign proceedings
. The High Court of England and Wales, Court of Session in Scotland and High Court of Northern Ireland are the relevant courts in which to bring an application for the enforcement of a foreign judgment in each respective part of the UK. Lower civil courts also have the ability to hear Small Claims Procedure cases.

The judgments must be registered in the UK before they are enforceable. Once a judgment is registered (process varies in every jurisdiction) it will be enforceable in the same way as a judgment obtained in the UK
. A foreign judgment may in some circumstances be relied upon to ground a right or defend a claim in UK proceedings without first being registered, for example to show that the issue has already been decided between the parties elsewhere.

The FJA makes provisions for setting aside registration in circumstances where the original court lacked jurisdiction, the judgment was obtained by fraud, an appeal is pending or if the judgment is contrary to the public policy of UK.
The Act also requires that the judgment be enforceable in the jurisdiction of origin in order to be registered.
If the rights under the judgment are not vested in the person seeking enforcement or where a conflicting judgment exists, they can become grounds for challenging the said judgment.

To conclude, it is essential to note that under the common law as well as Foreign Judgment recognition statutes of England, the courts have the discretion on whether to recognize foreign judgments and other factors may also be considered in the exercise of discretion.
These courts do not consider reciprocity while determining the enforceability of a specific judgment, though this factor is taken into account by the Crown when extending coverage of the FJA to new jurisdictions by Order in Council.

Once a foreign judgment has been recognized in the UK, whether through registration under the FJA or common law, the original judgment can then be enforced the same way as a UK judgment.
In each of England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, the creditor may apply to the court for the imposition of one or more of a range of enforcement methods, including orders compelling the
debtor to provide information about its affairs to enable enforcement, seizure of assets, garnishment of bank accounts or diversion of funds owed by third parties to the debtor, attachment of wages or other earnings, or charges over land and other assets including securities.

[1] Supreme Court; AIR 1957 Mad 25(N.P.A.K. Muthiah Chettiar (Died) … vs K.S. Rm. Firm Shwebo, Burma And India)

[2] Inserted vide Ministry of Law GSR 201 dated 13.3.1950

[3] Central Government Notification Nos. 47 of 51, dated 25.02.1953,

[4] Central Government Notification Nos. 47 of 51, dated 01.03.1953

[5] http://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/1958/425/made#:~:text=2.,named%20in%20the%20Schedule%20hereto.