Can Foreign Court Judgments be enforced in Australia?
What types of Foreign Court Judgments can be registered for enforcement in Australia?
Superior Courts
The following is a list of the Foreign Countries extracted from the Foreign Judgments Regulations 1992 (Comm.) with arrangements as at 1 December 2021 to recognise Australian Court judgments which in turn may be recognised and capable of registration in Australian Courts:
Regulation 4 ➲ Schedule Superior Courts
1A
Province of Alberta, Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
Court of Appeal of Alberta
Court of Queen's Bench of Alberta
2
Bahamas, The Commonwealth of the
Court of Appeal
Supreme Court
3
Province of British Columbia, Canada
Supreme Court of Canada
Court of Appeal of British Columbia
Supreme Court of British Columbia
4
British Virgin Islands
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
5
Cayman Islands
Grand Court
6
Dominica,
Commonwealth of
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court
Court of Appeal
High Court of Justice
7
Falkland Islands
Court of Appeal
Supreme Court
8
Fiji, Republic of
Supreme Court
Court of Appeal
High Court
9
France (French Republic)
Cour de Cassation
Cours d'Appel
Tribunaux de grand instance
Tribunaux de commerce
Cours d'assise
Tribunaux correctionnels
10
Germany, Federal
Republic of
Bundesgerichtshof
Oberlandesgerichte
Bayerische Oberste Landesgericht
Landgerichte
11
Gibraltar
Court of Appeal
Supreme Court
12
Grenada
Supreme Court (consisting of the:
Court of Appeal; High Court)
13
Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China, The
Court of Final Appeal
High Court
(consisting of the: Court of Appeal; Court of First Instance)
14
Israel, State of
Supreme Court
District Courts
Moslem Religious Courts
Druze Religious Courts
15
Italy (Italian Republic)
Corte Suprema di Cassazione
Corte di Assise
Corte d'Appello
Tribunale
16
Japan
Supreme Court
High Courts
District Courts
Family Courts
16A
Korea, Republic of
Supreme Court
Appellate Courts
District Courts
Family Court
Patent Court
Administrative Court
16B
Malawi
High Court
Supreme Court
17
Province of Manitoba, Canada
Court of the Queen's Bench of Manitoba
18
Montserrat
Privy Council
Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal
High Court of Montserrat
19
Papua New Guinea
Supreme Court of Justice National Court of Justice
19A
Poland, Republic of
Supreme Court
Commercial Courts
Courts of Appeal
Provincial Courts
20
St Helena
Supreme Court
21
St Kitts and Nevis, Federation of
Privy Council
Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal
High Court (Saint Christopher Circuit)
High Court (Nevis Circuit)
22
St Vincent and the Grenadines
Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (consisting of the:
Court of Appeal,
High Court)
23
Seychelles, Republic of
Court of Appeal
Supreme Court
24
Singapore, Republic of
Privy Council: in respect of orders made on appeals from the Singapore Supreme Court and filed with the Court of Appeal of Singapore
Supreme Court of Singapore (consisting of the: Court of Appeal; High Court)
25
Solomon Islands
Court of Appeal
High Court
25A
Sri Lanka
Supreme Court
Court of Appeal
High Court
District Court
25AA
Switzerland
Bundesgericht
Kantonale Obere Gerichte
Handelsgerichte
25AB
Taiwan
Supreme Court
High Courts
District Courts
25B
Tonga
Court of Appeal
Supreme Court
26
Tuvalu
Court of Appeal
High Court
27
United Kingdom, The
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom
Senior Courts of England and Wales
Court of Judicature of Northern Ireland
Court of Session
28
Western Samoa
Court of Appeal
Supreme Court of Western Samoa
Note: The Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court is constituted by Statutory Instrument 1967 No. 223, as amended by Statutory Instrument 1983 No. 1108, of the United Kingdom.
The Court is differently described in the usage of the countries mentioned in the Schedule in relation to which it is listed as a superior court.
The description used by each of those countries is set out in column 3 of the relevant item in the Schedule.
✅ Reseal of Probate (see below discussion).
Inferior Courts
(2) Part 2 of the Act extends in relation to the following inferior courts of the United Kingdom:
(a) County Courts (England and Wales);
(b) County Courts (Northern Ireland);
(c) Sheriff Courts (Scotland).
(3) Part 2 of the Act extends in relation to the following inferior courts of Canada:
(a) the Provincial Court of Alberta;
(b) the Provincial Court of British Columbia;
(c) the Provincial Court of Manitoba.
(4) Part 2 of the Act extends in relation to the following inferior courts of Switzerland:
(a) Bezirksgerichte;
(b) Erstinstanzliche Gerichte;
(c) Arbeitsgerichte;
(d) Mietgerichte.
(6) Part 2 of the Act extends in relation to each District Court of the Republic of Poland.
For NZ judgments
Please read our FAQ: What types of New Zealand (NZ) Court judgments can and cannot be registered for Enforcement in Australia?
Reseal of Probate
➲ If a deceased had assets in different states of Australia or in certain countries, namely Commonwealth countries where the Queen is the head of state, then it is generally possible to have a Grant of Probate issued by a Court in one jurisdiction recognised in another state or country.
This process of recognising the grant made in the other state or country is called resealing the grant.
NSW Reseal of Probate example:
Not all Grants from other countries can be resealed by the Supreme Court of NSW.
The Probate Court will only reseal Grants made in countries of the "Commonwealth Realm" where the Queen is, or was at the time of the grant, Head of State.
Such countries include the United Kingdom (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland), New Zealand, Papua New Guinea and Solomon Islands.
Recent grants from the following countries cannot be resealed: Malta, South Africa, Pakistan, India, Sri Lanka, Fiji, Hong Kong or The Republic of Ireland.
If a grant cannot be resealed then it may be necessary to apply for a new Grant of Probate in NSW.
Credits:
This FAQ was created by James D. Ford GAICD | Principal Solicitor, Blue Ocean Law Group℠.
Important Notice:
This FAQ is intended for general interest + information only.
It is not legal advice, nor should it be relied upon or used as such.
We recommend you always consult a lawyer for legal advice specifically tailored to your needs & circumstances.