NEW ZEALAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Fionnghuala Cuncannon and Kate Muirhead, Cuncannon
• Charging orders prevent a judgment debtor from disposing of property (land or personal property) so as to defeat a judgment creditor’s claim. They are a precursor to rather than a means of enforcement. • Attachment orders require the debtor’s employer to pay the creditor a proportion of the debtor’s income. This payment must not prevent the debtor from paying necessary day-to-day expenses. The creditor must first cross-examine the debtor in court to determine an amount they can afford to pay. • Sale and possession orders permit a court enforce- ment officer to take possession of and sell the property of the debtor to compensate the creditor. • Sequestration orders authorise the sequestrator to enter and take possession of all real and personal property of the person against whom it is directed, and to obtain the rents and profits from it pending compliance. • In extreme cases, arrest orders are available for contempt of court for persistently failing to comply with a court order (as noted in 6.7 Consequences of a Respondent’s Non-Compliance ). Commit- tal warrants may be used to commit a person to a term of imprisonment not exceeding six months. Fines or community work may also be ordered. 9.5 Enforcement of a Judgment From a Foreign Country The procedure for enforcing a foreign judgment in New Zealand varies depending on the origin of the judgment. • For judgments from a country covered by the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act 1934, the person seeking to enforce the judgment must apply to the High Court to register a judgment. Registration may be set aside for reasons such as fraud or if enforcement would be contrary to New Zealand public policy. • For Commonwealth country judgments except for Australia, a memorial must be filed in the High Court (without notice) to register the judgment as a New Zealand judgment under the Senior Courts Act 2016. • For judgments from Australian courts, the judg- ment must be registered in a New Zealand court under the Trans-Tasman Proceedings Act 2010.
• For judgments not covered by these enactments, enforcement may be available at common law.
10. Appeal 10.1 Levels of Appeal or Review to a Litigation
Ordinarily, judgments can be appealed from the Dis- trict Court to the High Court, from the High Court to the Court of Appeal, and from the Court of Appeal to the Supreme Court. Leave may be required for a sec- ond appeal. Leave is always required for appeals to the Supreme Court. Decisions of specialist courts and tribunals, and certain decisions of regulators like the Commerce Commission, are also appealed to specific courts. As an alternative to an appeal, a party may apply to the High Court to judicially review a decision of a tribu- nal or inferior court. A judicial review is concerned with the decision-making process rather than the merits of the decision itself. If a court makes an uncontroversial error, such as a typographical mistake or incorrect calculation, a party may apply to recall the judgment. If, however, a party considers the judge has come to an incorrect deci- sion on the facts or law, that is properly the subject of an appeal. 10.2 Rules Concerning Appeals of Judgments If there is no right of appeal, an intended appellant must seek leave of the court to bring an appeal, including when: • appealing a procedural/interlocutory decision; • bringing a second appeal (against a decision of the High Court made on appeal from the District Court); and • bringing any appeal to the Supreme Court. An applicant for leave to appeal to the High Court or Court of Appeal must identify an arguable error in the judgment that is of such significance (to the applicant or the public) as to warrant incurring further delay. This is a high threshold. Leave will only be granted if it is in the interests of justice.
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