Enforcing foreign judgments in Ireland

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Created: Wednesday, July 17 2013 10:56

The extent to which a foreign Judgment will be recognised in Ireland depends on the country in which the Judgment was obtained.

The European Union has implemented rules regarding the recognition and enforcement of Judgments between EU States. These include the following:

(i) “Brussels 1 Regulations” on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of Judgments in civil and commercial matters, which applies to all EU States and Denmark; and
(ii) “Lugano Convention”, which applies to the EU States and the EFTA States (i.e. Norway, Liechtenstein, Iceland and Switzerland).

An application to enforce a Judgment originating in one of the above countries in Ireland is made ex parte by application to the Master of the High Court. The application must be supported by an affidavit, which is typically sworn by the Irish solicitor making the application.

Certain documents must be produced to the Master on making the application. Once the required documents are produced, the Master will declare the Judgment enforceable. The Master’s powers are limited to checking that the documents submitted with the application are in accordance with the provisions of the Regulation.

The enforcement order, when granted, means that the foreign Judgment shall have the same force and effect as if it were a Judgment of the High Court in Ireland.

Uncontested Judgments may be subject to a “European Enforcement Order”, granted under Council Regulation EC No. 805/2004. Under the Regulation, a Judgment which has been certified as a European Enforcement Order in a member state of origin will be treated as if it had been delivered in the member state in which enforcement is sought.

As regards non-EU Judgments, where there is no international convention in force to provide for a reciprocal recognition of Judgments (e.g. U.S.A.), common law rules govern the enforceability of Judgments.

For a foreign court to be deemed one of competent jurisdiction for the purposes of enforcement, the defendant must have (i) been resident or present in the foreign jurisdiction at the time of proceedings, or (ii) appeared or participated in the proceedings, or (iii) contracted to submit to that jurisdiction. Even still, an Irish court may refuse to enforce the Judgment if the Judgment violates Irish public policy or involves certain foreign laws which will not be enforced in Ireland.

In summary, it is relatively straightforward for a Judgment obtained in EU Member States and the EFTA States to be enforced in Ireland. In contrast, the procedures available under Irish common law for enforcement of Judgments obtained where there is no international convention in force are very restrictive.