Matters of jurisdiction can get complicated for UK businesses that work across borders. It is important to understand your options if you trade in multiple countries, or work with overseas suppliers and customers. If your business is caught in a commercial dispute with a person or company in another country, the court process may result in a judgment in an overseas jurisdiction, and you may need to follow a further legal process to have the judgment recognised, upheld, or enforced in the UK, particularly in order to realise any money that may be owed to you in accordance with that judgment.

In this guide, the expert commercial litigation lawyers at JMW Solicitors discuss the process of enforcing a foreign judgment in the UK under English law. We aim to cover the whole process briefly, from the first step of determining whether your judgment can be enforced, to the final stage of securing the money you are owed or resolving your dispute.

Step one: Is the judgment final?

A foreign judgment must be final and conclusive before it can be enforced in the UK. 

This means that if the judgment could be appealed in its country of origin, you cannot register it in the UK. You must wait until the process is complete before seeking to enforce the judgment.

Additionally, the judgment must involve a monetary sum; non-monetary judgments (like injunctions or specific performance orders) cannot be enforced directly. You may need to relitigate certain aspects of these cases to have them enforced, or file a new claim in the UK. Speak to the team at JMW for further guidance on enforcing an overseas non-monetary judgment in the UK.

Step two: Is there an enforcement treaty?

If you are satisfied that the judgment meets the UK enforcement criteria, you should speak to a solicitor. They will check whether a reciprocal enforcement treaty exists between the UK and the country where the judgment was issued. If so, it will be more straightforward to have your judgment recognised and enforced in the UK, because legal structures will already be in place to enable this.

The enforcement process is more complex if the country where the judgment was made does not have a reciprocal enforcement agreement with the UK. The creditor may need to bring a new claimin the English court to have the judgment recognised, using the original foreign judgment as evidence. If successful, the English courts will either enforce the judgment or make a new order that will be enforceable in the UK.

The UK is no longer party to the Lugano Convention, which functioned as an enforcement treaty between EU states and three further EEA countries. As such, legal advice is highly recommended if you wish to enforce a judgment obtained in an EU member state, here in the UK.

The specific details and legal requirements of enforcing a foreign judgment can be intricate and vary significantly depending on the countries involved. The commercial litigation team at JMW often deals with cases that contain an international element, and will use this expertise to deliver practical advice and legal support that will help you to achieve your aims.

Step three: Apply to register the judgment

If the judgment qualifies for enforcement, the next step involves applying to a UK court to register the judgment. This application should include a certified copy of the judgment, a translation (if it is not in English), and evidence that the judgment is enforceable and final in the originating country. A solicitor can help to support your application and ensure it remains legally compliant.

The UK court will review the application to ensure it meets all the legal requirements. If satisfied, the court will order the registration of the foreign judgment. Once registered, the judgment is treated as if it had originally been issued in the UK court on the date of registration.

This does not mean that the decision will be enforced automatically. Once the judgment is registered, the other party (the person or business against whom it will be enforced) will be notified and will have an opportunity to challenge the registration. They must have specific legal grounds to do so - for example, if they believe that the court that issued the original judgment lacked the jurisdiction to do so, or if they believe that the decision was obtained fraudulently. Your solicitor will then need to demonstrate why this is not the case, and the court should remain in line with its original decision. 

If you do not have the option to register the judgment - for example, if it is ineligible or if there is no treaty in place - the team at JMW can advise you on how else to proceed to enforce your judgment.

Step four: Enforcement

If the judgment is registered, you can then proceed with enforcement measures in the same way as you would for a domestic judgment. Examples include seizing assets, garnishing wages, and other enforcement actions allowed under English law.