ENGLAND & WALES Law and Practice Contributed by: James Herring, Nathalie Allen and David Wigg, Addleshaw Goddard
There is no agreement between the UK and the non- EU Lugano Convention states (Norway, Iceland and Switzerland) about the continuing application of the Lugano Convention after the end of the Brexit TP to proceedings issued before it ended. However, with effect from 31 December 2020, national, unilateral, UK regulations provide for the continued application in the UK of that convention to the enforcement of judg - ments from those three states in proceedings issued before the end of the Brexit TP. Hague Choice of Court Convention 2005 (“Hague Convention 2005”) This Convention provides for the recognition and enforcement of judgments based on exclusive choice of court agreements concluded on or after 1 October 2015 (or the date of accession of the relevant con - tracting state, if later), conferring jurisdiction on a con - tracting state. As of July 2025, the Hague Convention 2005 contracting states are: • Albania; • Bahrain; • EU member states; • Mexico; • Moldova; • Montenegro; • North Macedonia; • Singapore; • Switzerland; • the UK, which acceded in its own right at the end of the Brexit TP; and • Ukraine. China, Israel and the USA have signed but not ratified the Hague Convention 2005. The Hague Convention 2005 has the force of law in the UK by virtue of an amendment to the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982. The UK government con - siders that the Hague Convention 2005 entered into force for the UK on 1 October 2015 (when it became bound by virtue of its then membership of the EU), and that the UK was a contracting state without interrup - tion from that date. EU member state courts may take a different view of the date of the UK’s accession to the Hague Convention 2005, but the courts of England and Wales will apply it to judgments given in proceed -
ings that are based on choice of court agreements where the relevant agreement was entered into after 1 October 2015. Hague Judgments Convention 2019 Not to be confused with the Hague Convention 2005, the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Com - mercial Matters (“Hague Judgments Convention 2019”) goes further than the 2005 Convention. It pro - vides for the cross-border enforcement of judgments based on several jurisdictional bases, including non- exclusive jurisdiction clauses and, in contrast to the Hague Convention 2005, employment and consumer contracts are within its scope. As of July 2025, the Hague Judgments Convention 2019 contracting states are: • EU member states (except Denmark); • the UK; • Ukraine; and • Uruguay. The UK Statutory Regimes The Administration of Justice Act 1920 (the “AJA 1920”) deals with the enforcement of judgments from a large number of Commonwealth states and British Overseas Territories, including Bermuda, the British Virgin Islands, Kenya, Malaysia, New Zealand, Sin - gapore, Tanzania and Zimbabwe. It is worth noting that the AJA 1920 also deals with the enforcement of foreign judgments from the EU states of Cyprus and Malta (because of their particular historical links with the UK). It no longer applies to Hong Kong. The Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933 (the “1933 Act”) deals with the enforcement of judgments from Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, the Isle of Man, Israel, Italy, Jersey, India, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Suriname and Tonga. Some of these are EU states – since judgments based on proceedings issued in EU states after the end of the Brexit TP are no longer enforceable using the EU regime, it may be that applications for the registra - tion of judgments from these countries will have to be made under the 1933 Act in future (if the judgment does not fall under either of the Hague Conventions).
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