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Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act

LAWS OF FIJI

CHAPTER 39

RECIPROCAL ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGMENTS

Ordinances Nos. 22 of 1922, 37 of 1966

AN ACT TO FACILITATE THE RECIPROCAL ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGMENTS AND AWARDS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM AND FIJI

[18th December, 1922.]

Short title

1. This Act may be cited as the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act.

Interpretation

2. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-

"judgment" means any judgment or order given or made by a court in any civil proceedings whether before or after the commencement of this Act whereby any sum of money is made payable and includes an award in proceedings on an arbitration if the award has in pursuance of the law in force in the place where it was made become enforceable in the same manner as a judgment given by a court in that place;

"original court" in relation to any judgment means the court by which the judgment was given;

"registering court" in relation to any judgment means the court by which the judgment was registered;

"judgment creditor" means the person by whom the judgment was obtained and includes the successors and assigns of that person;

"judgment debtor" means the person against whom the judgment was given and includes any person against whom the judgment is enforceable in the place where it was given.

Enforcement in Fiji of judgments obtained in High Court in England, etc.

3.-(1) Where a judgment has been obtained in the High Court in England or Ireland or in the Court of Session in Scotland the judgment creditor may apply to the Supreme Court in Fiji at any time within twelve months after the date of the judgment or such longer period as may be allowed by the said Supreme Court to have the judgment registered in the said Supreme Court and on any such application the said Supreme Court may, if in all the circumstances of the case it thinks it just and convenient that the judgment should be enforced in Fiji, and subject to the provisions of this section, order the judgment to be registered accordingly.

(2) No judgment shall be ordered to be registered under this section if-

(a) the original court acted without jurisdiction; or

(b) the judgment debtor being a person who was neither carrying on business nor ordinarily resident within the jurisdiction of the original court did not voluntarily appear or otherwise submit or agree to submit to the jurisdiction of that court; or

(c) the judgment debtor being the defendant in the proceedings was not duly served with the process of the original court and did not appear notwithstanding that he was ordinarily resident or was carrying on business within the jurisdiction of that court or agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of that court; or

(d) the judgment was obtained by fraud; or

(e) the judgment debtor satisfies the registering court either that an appeal is pending or that he is entitled and intends to appeal against the judgment; or

(f) the judgment was in respect of a cause of action which for reasons of public policy or for some other similar reason could not have been entertained by the registering court.

(3) Where a judgment is registered under this section-

(a) the judgment shall, as from the date of registration, be of the same force and effect and proceedings may be taken thereon as if it had been a judgment originally obtained or entered up on the date of registration in the registering court;

(b) the registering court shall have the same control and jurisdiction over the judgment as it has over similar judgments given by itself but in so far only as relates to executions under this section;

(c) the reasonable costs of and incidental to the registration of the judgment (including the costs of obtaining a certified copy thereof from the original court and the application for registration) shall be recoverable in like manner as if they were sums payable under the judgment.

No costs of action in certain cases

4. In any action brought in the Supreme Court on any judgment which might be ordered to be registered under section 3 the plaintiff shall not be entitled to recover any costs of the action unless an application to register the judgment under that section has previously been refused or unless the Court otherwise orders.

Issue of certificate of judgment obtained in Fiji

5. Where a judgment has been obtained in the Supreme Court against any person the Supreme Court shall, on an application made by the judgment creditor and on proof that the judgment debtor is resident in the United Kingdom, issue to the judgment creditor a certified copy of the judgment.

Power to make rules

6. The Chief Justice may make rules of court for regulating the practice and procedure (including scales of fees and evidence) in respect of proceedings of any kind under this Act and such rules of court shall (inter alia) provide-

(a) for service on the judgment debtor of notice of the registration of a judgment under this section; and

(b) for enabling the registering court on an application by the judgment debtor to set aside the registration of a judgment under this section on such terms as the Court thinks fit; and

(c) for suspending the execution of a judgment registered under this section until the expiration of the period during which the judgment debtor may apply to have the registration set aside.

Power to extend provisions of Act

7.-(1) Where the Governor-General is satisfied that reciprocal provisions have been made by the legislature of any other country or territory of the Commonwealth outside the United Kingdom for the enforcement within such country or territory of judgments obtained in the Supreme Court of Fiji the Governor-General may by order declare that this Act shall extend to judgments obtained in a superior court in that country or territory in like manner as it extends to judgments obtained in a superior court in the United Kingdom and on any such order being made this Act shall extend accordingly.

(2) For the purposes of this section, a country or territory of the Commonwealth includes British protectorates and protected states and territories in respect of which Her Majesty has entered into a trusteeship agreement.
(Section amended by 37 of 1966, s. 10.)

Controlled by Ministry of the Attorney-General

CHAPTER 39

RECIPROCAL ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGMENTS

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Rules 15th Dec., 1922 [in force 18th Dec., 1922],
4th Dec. 1968

SECTION 6.-RECIPROCAL ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGMENTS RULES
Made by the Chief Justice

Short title

1. These Rules may be cited as the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgment Rules.

Application

2. Any application under subsection (1) of section 3 of the Act for leave to have a judgment obtained in the High Court in England or Ireland or in the Court of Sessions in Scotland registered in the Supreme Court shall be made ex parte or by summons to the Court, which may direct a summons to be issued.

Affidavit

3. The application shall be supported by an affidavit of the facts exhibiting the judgment or a verified or certified or otherwise duly authenticated copy thereof, and staling that to the best of the information and belief of the deponent the judgment creditor is entitled to enforce the judgment, and the judgment does not fall within any of the cases in which under subsection (2) of section 3 of the Act a judgment cannot properly be ordered to be registered. The affidavit must also, so far as the deponent can, give the full name, title, trade, or business and usual or last known place of abode or business of the judgment creditor and judgment debtor respectively.

Title of affidavit and summons

4. The affidavit and the summons, if any, shall be intituled-

"In the matter of the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act and in the matter of a Judgment of the [describing the court] obtained in [describing the cause or matter] and dated the .................. day of .................., 19............... ".

Service of summons

5. The summons, if any, for leave to register shall be an originating summons and, unless otherwise ordered by the Court, shall be served in the same manner as a writ of summons is required to be served. The judgment debtor shall not be required to enter any appearance thereto.

Order

6. Any order giving leave to register shall be drawn up by or on behalf of the judgment creditor and, when the order is made on a summons, the order shall be served on the judgment debtor, but where the order is made on an ex parte application no service of the order on the judgment debtor shall be required.

Form of order

7. The order giving leave to register the judgment shall state the time within which the judgment debtor is to be entitled to apply to set aside the registration. Such time shall depend on the distance from Suva of the place where the judgment debtor resides and the postal and transport facilities between Suva and that place.

The register

8. The register of judgments ordered to be registered under the Act shall be kept in the office of the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court by or under the direction of the Chief Registrar. The judgment shall be registered therein in accordance with the order giving leave to register it.

Form of register

9. The register shall be arranged in alphabetical order in the surname of the judgment debtor, and there shall be entered in the register the date of the order for registration and of the registration, the name, title, trade, or business and usual or last known place of abode or business of the judgment debtor and judgment creditor, and the amounts for which the judgment is signed and any special directions in the order for registration as to such registration and/or execution thereon, and the particulars of any execution issued thereon.

Notice of registration

10. Notice in writing of the registration of the judgment must be served on the judgment debtor within a reasonable time after such registration. Such notice shall, in the absence of an order by the Court as to the mode of service thereof, be served on the judgment debtor by personal service (with power to order substituted service or service out of the jurisdiction or both) as in the case of a writ of summons, but the Court may at any stage of the proceedings authorise or direct some other mode of service and, if it does so, the service shall be effected in accordance with such authority or direction.

Form of notice

11. The notice of registration shall contain full particulars of the judgment registered and of the order for such registration and shall state the name and address of the judgment creditor or of his barrister and solicitor or agent on whom and at which service of any summons issued by the judgment debtor may be served. The notice shall state that the defendant is entitled, if he has grounds for doing so, to apply to set aside the registration, and shall also state the number of days for applying to set aside the registration limited by the order giving leave to register.

Endorsement of service

12. The party serving the notice shall, within three days at most after such service, endorse on the notice or a copy or duplicate thereof the day of the month and week of the service thereof, otherwise the judgment creditor shall not be at liberty to issue execution on the judgment; and every affidavit of service of such notice shall mention the day on which such endorsement was made. This rule shall apply to substituted as well as other service. The three days limited by this rule may under special circumstances be extended by order of the Court.

Application to set aside registration

13. The judgment debtor may, at any time within the time limited by the order giving leave to register after service on him of the notice of the registration of the judgment, apply by summons to the Court to set aside the registration or to suspend execution on the judgment, and the Court on such application, if satisfied that the case comes within one of the cases in which under subsection (2) of section 3 of the Act no judgment can be ordered to be registered or that it is not just or convenient that the judgment should be enforced in Fiji or for other sufficient reason, may order that the registration be set aside or execution on the judgment suspended either unconditionally or on such terms as the Court thinks fit and either altogether or until such time as the Court shall direct:

Provided that the Court may allow the application to be made at any time after the expiration of the time herein mentioned.

Summons to set aside

14. The summons referred to in rule 13 shall be an ordinary summons intituled in the same manner as the affidavit referred to in rule 4.

Execution

15. No execution shall issue on a judgment registered under the Act until after the expiration of the time limited by the order giving leave to register after service on the judgment debtor of notice of the registration thereof:

Provided that the Court may at any time order that execution shall be suspended for a longer time.

Affidavit of service

16. Any party desirous of issuing execution on a judgment registered under the Act must produce to the proper office an affidavit of the service of the notice of registration.

Form of writ of execution

17. A writ of execution on a judgment registered under the Act shall (inter alia) contain the following words:-

"which said sum of money and interest were lately in [describing the court in which the judgment was obtained] and which judgment has been duly registered in the Supreme Court of Fiji pursuant to the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act.".

Certified copy of judgment

18. Any application under section 5 of the Act for a certified copy of a judgment obtained in the Supreme Court of Fiji shall be made ex parte to the Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court on an affidavit made by the judgment creditor or his barrister and solicitor giving the particulars of the judgment and showing that the judgment debtor is resident in England, Scotland, or Ireland [staling which country] and staling to the best of his information and belief the title, trade, business, or occupation of the judgment creditor and judgment debtor respectively and their respective usual or last known places of abode or business.

Certificate

19. The certified copy of the judgment shall be an office copy and shall be sealed with the seal of the Supreme Court and shall be certified by the Chief Registrar as follows:-

"I certify that the above copy judgment is a true copy of a judgment obtained in the Supreme Court of Fiji and this copy is issued in accordance with section 5 of the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act.

(Signed)

Chief Registrar of the Supreme Court of Fiji.".

Definition

20. In these Rules the expression "the Act" means the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act.

Fees

21. The fees to be taken in the Supreme Court Registry in respect of the registration of judgments under the Act shall be those set out in Part I of Appendix 2 of the Supreme Court Rules.
(Substituted by Rules 4th December 1968)

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SECTION 7 – EXTENSION OF ACT TO JUDGMENTS OBTAINED IN COURTS IN OTHER COMMONWEALTH COUNTRIES
Orders in Council

Orders of the Governor in Council

1st October, 1924 [in force 10th October, 1924]
Solomon Islands
Kiribati
Tuvalu

26th June, 1925 {in force 3rd July, 1923]
New South Wales

3rd July, 1925 [in force 10th July, 1925]
New Zealand

23rd April, 1926 [in force 30th April, 1926]
Territory of Norfolk Island

1^st July, 1949
Pakistan

Controlled by Ministry of the Attorney-General

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