Enforcement Of Foreign Judgments In Bermuda At Common Law

In general, there are two ways in Bermuda to enforce a final money judgment1 obtained in an overseas Court (a "foreign judgment") against a person2 in Bermuda. The method employed will depend upon the jurisdiction in which the foreign judgment was obtained and possibly the Court within that jurisdiction. This article addresses only enforcement of judgments obtained in countries which are not included in Bermuda's Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1958, in other words, judgments which are enforceable at common law

The position at common law is, generally speaking, that a person wishing to enforce a foreign money judgment in Bermuda cannot do so by direct execution of that judgment; he must sue on the foreign judgment, as if it were a debt. The enforcement of foreign judgments at common law is based on the principle that where a court of competent jurisdiction has adjudicated a certain sum to be due from one person to another, a legal obligation arises to pay that sum, on which an action in debt to enforce the judgment may be maintained.3 That is not to say that there must be a trial in Bermuda which repeats the proceedings which have already taken place elsewhere. The judgment creditor in Bermuda can seek final judgment in Bermuda by way of Bermuda's summary judgment procedure, a faster procedure than the normal trial process. The plaintiff (as the foreign judgment creditor is in Bermuda) simply sues on the foreign judgment...

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