Cayman ISLANDS Law and Practice Contributed by: Sam Dawson, Peter Sherwood and Denis Olarou, Carey Olsen
9.4 Enforcement Mechanisms of a Domestic Judgment The most common forms of enforcement are: • writ of fieri facias (seizure of assets). • garnishment of money owed to the judgment debtor by a third party; • charging orders over assets; • winding-up proceedings; and • appointment of a receiver. 9.5 Enforcement of a Judgment From a Foreign Country Except for Australian judgments, which are sub- ject to a statutory enforcement regime under the Foreign Judgments Reciprocal Enforcement Act (1996 Revision), foreign in personam judgments are enforced under the common law. In order to be enforced, the foreign judgment: • must be final and conclusive (noting that the existence or possibility of an appeal does not affect the finality of the judgment); • must have been issued by a court that had jurisdiction over the person against whom judgment was given in that the person was present in the foreign country, was claimant (or counterclaimed) or voluntarily participated in the foreign proceedings (other than to contest jurisdiction), or otherwise submit- ted to the jurisdiction of the foreign court by conduct or agreement; and • must not have been obtained by fraud or be against public policy. Although most judgments that are enforced are money judgments, certain non-money judg- ments may also be enforced in appropriate cir- cumstances.
The foreign judgment is enforced by issuing a writ suing on the judgment debt. The court will not typically re-hear the substantive dispute behind the foreign judgment and, accordingly, the enforcement claim is usually suitable for expedited determination by summary judgment. Once a Cayman Islands judgment is entered on the enforcement claim, it is enforceable by the same means as any other domestic judgment. 10. Appeal 10.1 Levels of Appeal or Review to a Litigation Appeals from the Grand Court lie, to the Cayman Islands Court of Appeal. Further appeals lie, to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council in the UK. 10.2 Rules Concerning Appeals of Judgments Appeals from final judgments of the Grand Court generally lie, as of right. Appeals from most interlocutory decisions require permission, which may be obtained from the Grand Court or, if refused, from the Court of Appeal. To obtain permission, the would-be appellant must show that the appeal has a realistic (as opposed to fanciful) chance of success. 10.3 Procedure for Taking an Appeal If leave to appeal is not required, a notice of appeal must be filed and served within 14 days of the date on which the judgment or order being appealed from was filed. In cases where leave to appeal is required, leave should be sought orally at the handing down of the judgment in the Grand Court. Failing that, leave can be sought from the Grand Court in writing within 14 days of the decision. If leave
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