MAURITIUS Law and Practice Contributed by: Roobesh Ramanjooloo, Pritesh Ramsaha and Ingrid Lecordier-Marie Joseph, Juristconsult Chambers
Once registered, the judgment carries the same force and effect as a judgment originally obtained on a claim brought before the Supreme Court. Exequatur To enforce a foreign judgment in Mauritius, a judgment creditor must file a motion paper before the Supreme Court of Mauritius, together with a supporting affida - vit requesting an order to make the foreign judgment executory in Mauritius. The affidavit must be accom - panied by a duly authenticated copy of the foreign judgment, evidence demonstrating that the judgment is final and that no appeal is pending, and a legal opin - ion from a lawyer qualified in the foreign jurisdiction. That legal opinion should: • confirm that the judgment remains valid and enforceable in the country where it was rendered; • identify any applicable limitation period for execu - tion under the laws of that jurisdiction; • confirm compliance with the foreign rules govern - ing service of the proceedings; and • explain the legal basis upon which the foreign court assumed jurisdiction over the dispute. The requirement for a legal opinion arises because, under Mauritian law, foreign law is treated as a ques - tion of fact and must therefore be established through expert evidence. Where the respondent is a foreign entity, leave of the Mauritian court must first be obtained before the exequatur proceedings can be served outside Mauritius. Once the application has been filed, the Supreme Court will generally allow the respondent up to two months to challenge the application. If no challenge is raised within that period, the foreign judgment may be registered and declared executory in Mauritius. Recognition and enforcement under the REJA must generally be sought within 12 months of the date of the judgment, although the Supreme Court has dis - cretion to extend that period where it considers it just and convenient to do so. In the case of an English money judgment, a judgment creditor may elect to proceed either under the REJA or under Article 546 of the Code de Procédure Civile . The latter is often regarded as more favourable because it is not subject to any prescribed time limit, provided that the foreign
judgment remains valid and capable of execution in the country where it was delivered. 3.5 Costs and Time Taken to Enforce Foreign Judgments Costs Court and associated costs are usually minimal and would not exceed USD750. The bulk of costs borne by parties would be made up of counsel and attor - ney fees. Fees can range between USD2,000 and USD6,000 for lower value claims, but should be expected to be much higher for higher value claims (up to USD20,000–25,000). Typical Timeframe A period of roughly 24 months may be necessary to enforce a foreign judgment. This estimate includes the time needed to: • seek exequatur; • notify the defendant of the application; • deal with any procedural challenges or objections raised by the defendant; and • obtain a determination at the hearing. Efficiency The exequatur procedure may be regarded as the more efficient enforcement mechanism in Mauritius because it is not limited to a specific category of judg - ments or country of origin. Unlike the regime under the REJA, which applies only to certain money judg - ments issued by superior courts in the United King - dom, exequatur is available for a wider range of for - eign judgments and reliefs. It therefore offers greater flexibility and constitutes the principal mechanism for the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in Mauritius. 3.6 Challenging Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Exequatur The grounds on which an application for exequatur may be opposed include the following. • Finality of the foreign judgment: (a) whether the foreign judgment is final and enforceable in the jurisdiction where it was rendered;
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