PAKISTAN Law and Practice Contributed by: Abdul Muqtadir Khan, Syed Absar Rahat Rizvi, Hammad Saleem and Zair Zaman Khan, Khan & Arshad
Non-Reciprocating Territories: Fresh Suit Conversely, where the judgment originates from a non-reciprocating territory, or where it is a non-money judgment or otherwise falls outside the scope of Sec - tion 44-A, the foreign judgment is not directly executa - ble. The decree-holder must file a fresh civil suit before the competent Pakistani court, either on the basis of the foreign judgment as the cause of action or on the original underlying cause of action. The defendant can contest the suit on the merits and on the Section 13 grounds; and, once a Pakistani decree is obtained, it is executed in the ordinary way which is governed by, inter alia, Order XXI. A suit on a foreign judgment must be brought within six years of the date of the judgment under Article 117 of the Limitation Act, 1908. 3.5 Costs and Time Taken to Enforce Foreign Judgments The Section 44-A route is generally quicker since it bypasses a full trial, though it can still take consid - erable time before all objections and any appeal are resolved. The Section 13 fresh-suit route is materially slower, commonly running into several years, because the defendant is entitled to contest the underly - ing claim as in any ordinary civil suit, including full pleadings, evidence and appeals. Court fees for the direct execution application are nominal; the fresh suit attracts ad valorem court fees based on the value of the claim, in addition to legal fees. 3.6 Challenging Enforcement of Foreign Judgments A judgment-debtor may challenge the enforcement of a foreign judgment on both procedural and sub - stantive grounds. Enforcement may be resisted by demonstrating: • that the foreign judgment is not final and conclu - sive, including where it remains subject to appeal or has been stayed by the foreign court; • that the foreign court lacked competent jurisdic - tion; • that the defendant was not duly served or the pro - ceedings were otherwise conducted in breach of the principles of natural justice; • that the judgment was obtained by fraud;
• has not been pronounced by a court of competent jurisdiction; • has not been given on the merits of the case; • appears on the face of the proceedings to be founded on an incorrect view of international law or a refusal to recognise the law of Pakistan where such law is applicable; • was rendered in proceedings opposed to the prin - ciples of natural justice; • has been obtained by fraud; or • sustains a claim founded on a breach of any law in force in Pakistan. In addition, Section 44-A CPC does not permit the direct execution of foreign judgments other than mon - ey decrees of the superior courts of notified recipro - cating territories. Accordingly, money decrees relating to taxes, fines, penalties, costs and foreign arbitral awards are expressly excluded from the Section 44-A execution regime. Likewise, non-money judgments and judgments originating from non-reciprocating ter - ritories are not directly enforceable and must instead be pursued through a fresh suit in Pakistan under the principles embodied in Section 13 CPC or on the origi - nal cause of action. 3.4 Process of Enforcing Foreign Judgments Reciprocating Territories: Direct Execution The procedure for enforcing a foreign judgment in Pakistan depends on whether it originates from a noti - fied reciprocating territory under Section 44-A of the CPC. Where the judgment is a money decree passed by the superior court of a reciprocating territory, the decree-holder files an execution application before the competent District Court in Pakistan, accompanied by a certified copy of the foreign decree, together with a certificate showing what (if anything) has already been satisfied or adjusted. The foreign decree is then treated as if it were a decree of the Pakistani court, and execution proceeds in accordance with Order XXI CPC. Before execution is ordered, the court issues notice to the judgment- debtor to show cause why the decree should not be executed, and the judgment-debtor may resist enforcement by establishing any of the exceptions contained in Section 13 CPC.
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