Legal guide: Enforcing your English and Welsh court judgments abroad

Do you have a judgment in England and Wales which you are seeking to enforce abroad? Several different regimes exist for this purpose and some of these are considered below. This can be a complex area of law, so it is best to obtain legal advice if you want to enforce a judgment abroad.

Scotland and Northern Ireland

English and Welsh judgments can be enforced in Scotland and Northern Ireland (NI) by virtue of the Civil Jurisdiction and Judgments Act 1982.

You will need to register the judgment before it can be enforced in Scotland or NI, which will involve obtaining a certificate from the original court if you are seeking to enforce a money judgment, or obtaining a certified copy of the judgment from the original court if you are seeking to enforce a non-money judgment.

Commonwealth

The Administration of Justice Act 1920 and the Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933 each variably apply to certain Commonwealth countries, such as Australia, Canada and some Caribbean countries, as well as the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

The process for both Acts involves obtaining a certified copy of the judgment from the English and Welsh court of origin and registering the judgment in the enforcement country.

Europe

The enforcement of English and Welsh judgments in the EU has been heavily affected by Brexit, and it can now be a rather complex process depending on when the judgment was obtained.

Judgments obtained pre-Brexit completion day (31 December 2020) can generally be enforced using the Brussels I (recast) regulation, which is still used between current EU states (N.B. different rules apply for judgments obtained before January 2015 and for certain overseas EU states). This system involves obtaining a certificate from the English and Welsh courts and then registering the judgment in the enforcement country.

To enforce a judgment obtained post-Brexit in the EU, you will need to look to either:

a) The Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements: The UK successfully acceded this Convention in its own right with effect from 1 January 2021. This Convention has a much narrower scope than Brussels I (recast) and can only be used in cases where there is an exclusive choice of court agreement in place between the parties; or

b) The Hague Judgments Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters: This Convention has a wider scope and broadly allows the enforcement of English and Welsh judgments where there is some connection between the claim or defendant and England/Wales. However, this convention only came into force in the UK on 1 July 2025, so will be unhelpful in relation to older judgments.

This means that where a contract between the parties did not include an exclusive jurisdiction clause, enforcement in the EU of an English and Welsh judgment obtained between January 2021 and July 2025 is generally limited to relying solely on the common law of the country where enforcement is sought.

US

There is no enforcement regime between the UK and the US and so to enforce an English and Welsh judgment in the US you will need to rely on local US law.

Rather than registering the English and Welsh judgment and then the judgment becoming enforceable, this route often involves obtaining a new judgment in the US based on the existing judgment by way of a motion for summary judgment.

Conclusion

Wherever you are seeking to enforce your judgment, it is advisable to seek local legal advice. There are many factors to consider, such as any applicable enforcement regimes as well as additional considerations such as whether translations are required.

If you have any questions about enforcing a judgment abroad, please contact our Dispute Resolution team