NEW ZEALAND Law and Practice Contributed by: David Weavers, Alex MacDuff, Matt Consedine and Verniel Virtucio, Russell McVeagh
will not automatically be stayed in favour of the parties’ choice of foreign court and Courts retain the discretion as to whether exclusive jurisdic - tion should be exercised in favour of the parties’ choice of court. Choice of law clauses will not preclude New Zealand legislation that would still apply to the applicable secured property located in New Zealand (eg, the PLA and the PPSA), and will not typically prevent the commencement of an insolvency proceeding in New Zealand. New Zealand has adopted the UNCITRAL Model Law, which facilitates the recognition in New Zealand of insolvency proceedings com - menced in foreign jurisdictions. The entitlement and extent of recognition will depend on whether the insolvency proceedings are foreign main or non-main proceedings. This is a common way of ensuring that foreign restructurings or insolven - cies can be implemented in respect of assets or counterparties located in New Zealand. Proceedings cannot be commenced against a foreign state except in certain prescribed limited circumstances. 6.3 Foreign Court Judgments Enforceability of foreign judgments will depend on the country in which the foreign judgment was obtained and the nature of the relief grant - ed in the judgment. A party which has obtained judgment overseas may be able to enforce the judgment in New Zealand: • if the judgment was given in Australia and is “registerable”, by registration of the judgment under the Trans-Tasman Proceedings Act 2010; • if the judgment was given in a country which New Zealand has a reciprocal agreement, by
registration of the judgment under the Recip - rocal Enforcement of Judgments Act 1934; and • under common law principles of comity. Foreign arbitral awards are generally recognised and can be enforced by entry as a judgment in New Zealand. There are a limited number of grounds on which the New Zealand courts may refuse enforcement of an award (eg, invalidity of the arbitration agreement under its govern - ing law). 6.4 A Foreign Private Credit Lender’s New Zealand’s overseas investment regime requires certain foreign investors to obtain con - sent for certain transactions. This may impact a foreign private credit lender’s ability to enforce its rights under a loan or security agreement in two key ways: • the approval of the Overseas Investment Office (OIO) may be required for a third-party purchaser to acquire certain assets if they fall within the regime; and • consideration should be given to the permit - ted security enforcement exemption if the foreign private credit lender proposes to acquire assets that would otherwise require OIO approval. Farm Debt Mediation Ability to Enforce Its Rights Overseas Investment Regime The Farm Debt Mediation Act 2019 (FDMA), which is not possible to contract out of, requires a creditor in relation to “farm debt” to engage in mediation prior to taking enforcement action. This creates a statutory moratorium on enforce - ment of farm debt for up to 60 working days. The exceptions that permit enforcement sooner include:
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