Can Foreign Court Judgments be enforced in Australia?

Australian Capital Territory
New South Wales
Northern Territory
Queensland
South Australia
Tasmania
Victoria
Western Australia
New Zealand
International

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

Regulation 5 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.