ENGLAND & WALES Law and Practice Contributed by: Damian Taylor, Olga Ladrowska, Lawal Ijaodola and Eleanor Higginson, Slaughter and May
ing on the type of judgment. Judgments requir- ing a party to pay money or perform an act can be enforced through, among other things, writs and warrants of control, which permit the seizure of the debtor’s assets, as well as through third- party debt orders, charging orders and attach- ment orders. 9.5 Enforcement of a Judgment From a Foreign Country Judgments from other jurisdictions are enforce- able in England and Wales if they are first rec- ognised by the courts as legal documents. Once recognised, these judgments can be enforced using any procedure available to enforce domes- tic judgments (see 9.4 Enforcement Mecha- nisms of a Domestic Judgment ). The procedure for recognising a foreign judgment depends on the country of origin. The Recast Brussels Regulation simplified the recognition and enforcement of judgments among EU member states, and applies to pro- ceedings instituted before 31 December 2020. Under this regime, judgments issued in one EU member state are recognisable and enforceable in others with only minor administrative steps. However, the recognition of judgments from pro- ceedings issued after 31 December 2020 is gov- erned by non-EU law rules, as outlined below. Judgments from Commonwealth member states can be recognised under the Administration of Justice Act 1920. Applications to register a judg- ment under this regime must be made within 12 months from the date of delivery of the judg- ment, although this period may be extended. For countries that have reciprocal arrangements with the UK, judgments can be recognised under the Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforce- ment) Act 1933. Under this regime, the creditor
must apply for registration within six years, and demonstrate that the foreign judgment is final, conclusive and for a fixed sum. For judgments from all other countries, absent any bilateral agreement, recognition is governed by common law. This process requires the judg- ment creditor to bring an action in the courts of England and Wales based on the foreign judg- ment. For judgments where there is a qualifying exclu- sive jurisdiction agreement in favour of the rel- evant foreign court, the Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements 2005 may apply (see 3.3 Jurisdictional Requirements for a Defendant ). 10. Appeal 10.1 Levels of Appeal or Review to a Litigation As stated in 1.2 Court System , appeals from the County Court will normally proceed to the High Court and then to the Court of Appeal, before potentially finally being heard in the UK Supreme Court. In certain circumstances, it is possible to appeal to the court or judge above the one to which the appeal would ordinarily progress, which is known as “leapfrogging”. 10.2 Rules Concerning Appeals of Judgments There are detailed procedural rules governing the appeal process. In most cases, permission to appeal is required. This permission is typi- cally sought from the court whose decision is being appealed or from the court to which the appeal lies.
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