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Fiji Legislation |
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
_______
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)
_______
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
1st
July, 1949
Pakistan
Controlled by Ministry of the Attorney-General
----------------------------------------------------
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