Making the UK a more attractive place to litigate

One of the most critical stages in any piece of litigation is making sure you get paid. Simply having a judgment from the Court in hand is not enough, particularly where the Defendant and their assets are based abroad. Enforcement can be difficult, for example, it can on occasion involve starting fresh proceedings in the country in which the judgement is to be enforced.

So far as enforcement is concerned, the signing earlier this month of the 2019 Hague Convention by Lord Bellamy, the Permanent Under-Secretary of State for Justice, marks an important step forward in the post Brexit era. Our previous arrangements with the EU on mutual enforcement came to an end with Brexit.

The essence of the Convention is that it allows for a simple method for enforcing cross-border judgements . It requires the Convention parties to recognise and enforce civil judgements which fall within its scope according to a set of common rules.

There are currently 29 contracting parties including EU members (minus Denmark). Several other states including the US have signed but not yet ratified the Treaty (so it is not yet in force in those countries). Lord Bellamy said that joining the Convention “marks a significant step forward for the UK within private international law and strengthens our appeal to businesses as a centre for dispute resolution”.

The Convention will come into force in the UK 12 months after ratification. It will only apply to judgements in proceedings stated after that date. It seems likely that it will be ratified mid-2024 and come into force mid-2025.

So litigants will have to wait a little longer before this welcome step brings this cross border legislation into effect.

Photo by Kyle Glenn on Unsplash