ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN DECREES AND JUDGMENT

Abstract

In this new Era of globalization, India poised as a one of the major international and global player in the world which enhances the importance of law concerning enforcement of foreign judgments in India. Access to foreign legal matters are now easily available due to communication and technological development. Foreign judgments may be recognized based on bilateral or multilateral treaties or conventions or other International Instruments. The 

“recognition” of a foreign judgment occurs when the court of one country accepts a judicial decision made by the courts of another “foreign” country, and issues a judgment in substantially identical terms without rehearing the substance of the original lawsuit. Recognition of judgment will be denied if the judgment is substantively incompatible with basic fundamental legal principles in the recognizing country. 

India has adopted Common law judicial system, The Constitution of India is inspired from laws and statute of other countries, as many provisions of Indian Constitution has been borrowed from the Statutes of other countries. Like Fundamental Rights from U.S. Bill of Rights, DPSP from Ireland Etc. Therefore, it is necessary that Indian Judiciary enforce such foreign decrees and judgments in India which is in consonance with the Basic fundamental rules and laws in force in India. 

The Indian Judiciary has given various guidelines and judgment which are greatly inspired by Laws of other country. One of the recent example is Triple Talaq which has been declared unconstitutional by SC, In recognizing  freedom of the press, the Court relied on the U.S. 

Supreme Court’s decision in Kovacs v. Cooper, In upholding the death sentence, the Supreme Court  relied on the U.S. cases of Furman v. Georgia, Arnold v. Georgia, and Proffitt v. 

Florida. Cases where conflict of laws arises, judges do the comparative study of laws of various countries to reach to a fruitful conclusion.  

This Article aims to study in detail the enforceability of foreign Judgments & decrees passed by foreign court and the nature and scope of Sec. 13, Sec 14, Sec 44-A of the Civil Procedure Code, 1908. The exceptions of Sec. 13 has been dealt separately in detail. This paper discusses various decisions of the Supreme Court, High Courts and other Courts of India, and some propositions are also discussed, so that the decisions can be rightly appreciated.