The Recognition and Enforcement by English Courts of Foreign Judgements in Contractual Obligations
: Do these rules address the demands of modern trade of the 21st century? A Critical Analysis

  • Muhammad Noor

Student thesis: Doctoral Thesis

Abstract

Private international law rules dictate the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgements, when a judgment from one nation get the legal power in another jurisdiction. The primary focus of this research is on the debt judgments, the recovery of debt from the debtor. International cross-border trade is all time, which means that more business transactions and commercial activity could translate into more disputes. Therefore, more problem resolving mechanism are required and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgements is one of them. Therefore, the key question guiding this research is whether or if the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgements in the contemporary age are still achievable by these outdated laws or is it a time for a change? In the last three decades, a new practice of accepting and enforcing judgments has emerged from Canada, which took birth, after the Canadian courts loosened the constraints of conventional English laws and gradually it became the talk of the legal corridors. Overall picture portrays that the justice might be less accessible, because transnational enterprises are subject to inconsistent and unclear legal regulations from country to country. The foundation of this research is predicated on uniformity, coherence and harmonisation of the relevant regulations and procedures. To address the research problem, this research looked at and analysed the current English rules and court practices to recognise and enforce foreign judgements. The study examined the merits of foreign judgements and the corresponding defences, evaluating their effectiveness. This research collected and examined the data through doctrinal, black letter law, and exploratory research. This study explored at the connections between comity and reciprocity; then it looked at the connection between old common law rules and the modern 21st century court decisions. Based on these findings, this study contributed by developing the four-corner diamond strategy and the "legal floor and ceiling paradigm."
Date of Award3 Dec 2025
Original languageEnglish
SupervisorGeorge Ndi (Main Supervisor) & Victor Azubike (Co-Supervisor)

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