JERSEY Law and Practice Contributed by: Marcus Pallot, Eleanor Davies and Christopher Tan, Carey Olsen
9.4 Enforcement Mechanisms of a Domestic Judgment Mechanisms available for the enforcement of domestic monetary judgments include the fol- lowing. • Distraint ( arrêt ) – a process whereby the mov- able property of the debtor is placed under the control of the Viscount who may then realise them to satisfy the judgment debt. • Arrêt entre mains a mechanism whereby a creditor gains rights in respect of a debtor’s movable property resting in the hands of a third party; it can extend to tangible or intan- gible movables (such as debts). • Judicial hypothec – a mechanism whereby the creditor can enforce against a debtor’s immovable property; the creditor asks the court to create a judicial hypothec and then moves to enforce by way of • dégrèvement or réalisation . • Insolvency proceedings – although not strictly enforcement, bankruptcy may be sought against the debtor, following which their mov- able and immovable property may be realised for the benefit of their creditors. Non-monetary judgments may be enforced through procedural mechanisms and/or com- mittal proceedings. 9.5 Enforcement of a Judgment From a Foreign Country A foreign judgment must be registered in Jersey in order to be enforceable. Judgments from the UK and the other Crown Dependencies are registrable under the Judg- ments (Reciprocal Enforcement) (Jersey) Law 1960. The process is set out in the law (and 1961 Rules) and requires an application to the court but no fresh action. The defendant must be
given the opportunity to set aside the registra- tion before it can be enforced. Where a judgment is not registrable under the 1960 Law, a fresh action must be started and summary judgment may be sought. In other words, this is a common law action to sue in respect of the judgment debt. It is sometimes possible to enforce overseas judgments which are not, strictly speaking, money judgments. For example, the Royal Court has recognised and enforced a judgment of the High Court of Brunei Darussalam that shares in certain Jersey com- panies be transferred from Prince Jefri of Brunei to the government of that country, as reported in Brunei Investment Agency & Anor v Fidelis Nominees Ltd & Ors [2008 JLR 337]. It is to be noted that particular care must be tak- en in respect of any foreign judgment purporting to determine rights and interests in a Jersey trust and/or which involves cross-border insolvency issues. Once enforceable, the mechanisms available to the creditor for enforcement are those described in 9.4 Enforcement Mechanisms of a Domestic Judgment . 10. Appeal 10.1 Levels of Appeal or Review to a Litigation Decisions of the Royal Court are appealed to the Court of Appeal. Decisions of the Court of Appeal are appealed to the Privy Council.
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