SINGAPORE Law and Practice Contributed by: Jansen Chow and Ang Leong Hao, Rajah & Tann Singapore
Choice of Court Agreements Act 2016 Second, a foreign judgment may be enforced under the regime of the Choice of Court Agreements Act 2016 (CCAA), which gives effect to the Hague Con - vention on Choice of Court Agreements (the “Hague Convention”). Under the CCAA regime, a foreign judg - ment from a court of a state party to the Hague Con - vention may be enforced in Singapore, subject to the requirements and exceptions set out in the CCAA. The broad stages are as follows. • A judgment creditor seeking to enforce a foreign judgment in Singapore must first commence an originating application without notice, supported by an affidavit. The judgment creditor would have to exhibit in the supporting affidavit, amongst other things, the foreign judgment seeking to be enforced (Order 37 Rule 2 of the Rules of Court 2021). (a) At this stage, a Singapore court would enforce the foreign judgment only if it is enforceable in the state where it originates. In deciding whether to enforce a foreign judgment, the Sin - gapore court cannot review its merits, except as permitted under the CCAA. Additionally, the Singapore court is bound by any findings of fact made by the foreign court that issued the foreign judgment, unless it was a default judg - ment (Section 13 of the CCAA). (b) A Singapore court must refuse to enforce a foreign judgment if it is obtained without giving the defendant notice of the foreign proceedings or by fraud, or if enforcement of the foreign judgment would be contrary to Singapore’s public policy (Section 14 of the CCAA). (c) A Singapore court may refuse to enforce the foreign judgment under Section 15 of the CCAA. For instance, a Singapore court may refuse to enforce a foreign judgment that is inconsistent with a judgment given by a Sin - gapore court in a dispute between the same parties. • The judgment creditor has to effect service of the court order together with a copy of the foreign judgment on every party to the case or proceed - ings in which the foreign judgment was obtained within 28 days after the date on which the court order is made. The judgment creditor must, within
14 days after the date on which the court order and the copy of the foreign judgment are served on a party, file an affidavit of service on that party (Order 37 Rule 6 of the Rules of Court 2021). • A judgment debtor may file for an application to set aside the court order relating to the foreign judg - ment (Order 37 Rule 7 of the Rules of Court 2021). This application must be made within 28 days after the date on which the court order and a copy of the foreign judgment were served on the judgment debtor or such longer period as the court may allow. A judgment debtor may rely on the grounds provided under Sections 14 and 15 of the CCAA to set aside the court order. • If the court order is not set aside, a judgment credi - tor who wishes to apply for an enforcement order to enforce the foreign judgment must produce to the court: the court order, a copy of the foreign judgment and an affidavit of service on the party against whom the enforcement is sought (see Order 37 Rule 10 of the Rules of Court 2021). Reciprocal Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act 1959 Third, foreign judgments may be enforced pursuant to the Reciprocal Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act 1959 (REFJA). Currently, only judgments from Hong Kong, Brunei Darussalam, Australia, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka and the UK could be registered under the REFJA. The broad stages of registering a foreign judgment under the REFJA regime are as follows. • A judgment creditor must apply for registration by way of an originating application without notice (Order 60 Rule 2 of the Rules of Court 2021). This application for registration must be supported by an affidavit exhibiting, amongst other things, the foreign judgment that is to be registered (Order 60 Rule 3 of the Rules of Court 2021). A judgment creditor may apply for registration of the foreign judgment at any time within six years after the date of the judgment, or if there is any appeal against the judgment, the date of the last judgment given in those proceedings. However, a foreign judgment cannot be registered if, at the date of the applica - tion, it has been wholly satisfied, discharged, or it
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