ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN JUDGMENTS IN IRELAND India is not party to any convention for the mutual recognition and enforcement

of foreign judgments to which Ireland is a party1, nor has Ireland been notified to be a reciprocating territory2. The enforcement of a foreign judgment in Irish Courts is governed by the common law rules of enforcement. There are a number of prerequisites to be met under Irish common law before the foreign judgment will be deemed to be enforceable in Ireland and these prerequisites are as follows:a) The judgment must be for a definite sum. b) The judgment must be final and conclusive. This rules out judgments which may be retrospectively altered by the foreign court. c) The judgment must be given by a court of competent jurisdiction. This criterion presents the most problems when seeking to enforce a judgment in Ireland. The High Court in Ireland may deem a foreign court to be competent in accordance with rules of private international law, which are as follows :-

i.

The defendant must have been present in the country in question at the time of the institution of the foreign proceedings (i.e. at the time of service). Where the defendant is a company, it will be viewed as present in a foreign country if it conducts business from an address in that country.

i.

The defendant must have submitted to the jurisdiction of the foreign proceedings. Submission to the proceedings could mean that there had been a prior agreement to the jurisdiction of the foreign proceedings or the defendant had participated in the foreign proceedings except where the defendant appeared only in order to contest the jurisdiction of the foreign court.

An Irish court will also exercise its right to refuse judgment on the on the following basis:a) if the foreign judgment was obtained by fraud. b) if the judgment violated Irish public policy
1

Enforcement of Judgments of EU Member States is regulated by the Brussels I Regulation (44/2001, OJL 12/1, 16 January 2001). 2 Section 44A, Code of Civil Procedure, 1908.

c) if the judgment is in breach of natural justice d) if it is irreconcilable with an earlier foreign judgment.

Thus, the situation remains that if a judgment originates from a non-convention country, the judgment is often unenforceable as a practical matter. When the enforcement of a foreign judgment is not possible as a result of the Irish courts adhering to long-standing common law rules, the plaintiff may be forced to re-litigate the matter de novo in Ireland.

The fresh suit must be filed in the District Court area where the defendant or defendants ordinarily resides or carries on any business, trade or occupation when the claim is under 6,348.69. For claims exceeding this amountbut does not exceed 38,092.14, proceedings must be filed in the Circuit Court of the County where the defendant or defendants ordinarily resides or carries on any business, trade or occupation.

Where all the above mentioned criteria are fulfilled, the proceedings for the enforcement of the judgment can be initiated in the appropriate Court, depending on the value of the claim and the pecuniary jurisdiction of the Court. In order for summons to be served upon the defendant for enforcement proceeding in accordance with the Enforcement of Court Orders Act, 1925 (as amended by the Enforcement of Court Orders (Amendment) Act, 2009, the creditor must produce before the Court3: a) the judgment on which he or she relies or other evidence of the original debt due to the creditor thereunder, b) a certificate in the Form 53.4, Schedule C signed by the creditor or solicitor for the creditor setting out the amount outstanding at the date of the certificate, and c) evidence that the debtor is ordinarily resident in the court area wherein the examination is taking place.

Rule 5, Order 53, District Court (Enforcement of Court Orders) Rules 2010.

District Court Rules Schedule: C - Forms in civil proceedings Form: 53.4 Certificate Of Amount Due - Enforcement of Court Orders Act, 1926, s. 15(6)

S.I. No. 129 of 2010 53.4

Schedule C O.53, r.5

Record Number...............

ENFORCEMENT OF COURT ORDERS ACT 1926, SECTION 15(6) CERTIFICATE OF AMOUNT DUE

District Court Area of District No. .................................. Creditor ......................... Debtor I hereby certify that, as set out below, *no sum whatever/*the total sum of ......... has been paid on foot of the claim herein since the service of the summons herein, and that the sum of ......... is now due by the Debtor to the Creditor.

Amount due (for debt, costs, expenses, interest if any) at the date of the service of the summons Payments made since the date of the service of the summons: Date Amount

 Deduct total payments Add accrued interest (if any) from date of service of summons to date of this certificate Amount now due Dated this ...... day of ............. 20 ..... Signed ................. Creditor/Solicitor for Creditor
*Delete where inapplicable.