The Bahamas is not a party to any international conventions, treaties, or other arrangements concerning the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. However, two primary mechanisms that afford litigants avenues to enforce foreign judgments exist.
The first is legislative in nature and involves having a judgment recognized in accordance with the provisions of the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act, 1924. The second mechanism is the common law, which confers upon the Supreme Court a jurisdiction to give effect to a foreign judgment if an action is commenced which “sues on the judgment” as a cause of action.
Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act, 1924(the “REJA”)
The REJA empowers a judge of the Supreme Court to register foreign judgments provided they emanate from a superior court of certain foreign jurisdictions, namely: –
- Australia
- Barbados,
- Belize,
- Bermuda,
- British Guiana (now Guyana),
- Jamaica,
- Leeward Islands,
- St Lucia, Trinidad, and
- the United Kingdom.
Initially, the types of judgments capable of registration under the REJA were limited to money judgments. However, following an amendment in 1999, the term “judgment”, as defined in the REJA was enlarged, and the requirement that the judgment to be registered should be for a sum of money was removed. This broadened the types of judgments available for registration under the REJA. Further, recent Supreme Court decisions, such as The Public Institution for Social Security v Fahad Maziad Rajaan Al-Rajaan 2020/CLE/gen/00976, confirm that it makes no difference whether the judgment sought to be registered in The Bahamas is a final judgment or an interlocutory judgment.
However, the REJA establishes specific criteria that must be met before the registration of any judgment. For instance, in the absence of leave from the Supreme Court, the REJA requires the judgment creditor to apply for registration within twelve months after the date of the judgment. Additionally, the REJA requires the judgment creditor to prove that it is just and convenient to enforce that judgment in The Bahamas.
An application under the REJA can be heard ex parte, allowing for a swift resolution. However it is not uncommon for a judge to direct that the hearing be inter partes. The REJA also limits the circumstances in which judgment can be registered. Generally, the Supreme Court will only depart from the legislative intention of Parliament to register judgments capable of registration under the REJA if the facts give way to one of the express legislative proscriptions set out in the REJA. These arise in instances where,
- the original court acted without jurisdiction;
- the judgment debtor, being a person who was neither carrying on business nor ordinarily resident within the jurisdiction of the original court, did not voluntarily appear or otherwise submit or agree to submit to the jurisdiction of that court;
- the judgment debtor, being the defendant in the proceedings, was not duly served with the process of the original court and did not appear, notwithstanding that he was ordinarily resident or was carrying on business within the jurisdiction of that court or agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of that court;
- the judgment was obtained by fraud;
- the judgment debtor satisfies the registering court either that an appeal is pending or that he is entitled or intends to appeal against the judgment; and
- the judgment was in respect of a cause of action which for reasons of public policy or for some other similar reason could not have been entertained by the registering court.”
Common Law- Suing on the Judgment
In relation to foreign judgments not capable of registration under the REJA, a plethora of local jurisprudence confirms a litigant’s standing to initiate proceedings and sue on the foreign judgment as a cause of action so that it may be domestically enforced. Such an action must be commenced before the expiry of six years from the date of the Judgment.
An action at common law may be disposed of summarily and expeditiously depending upon the court’s calendar. Much like an action commenced under the REJA, the length of time required to register or enforce a foreign judgment may be protracted if it becomes heavily contested or the judgment debtor seeks interim relief. However, unlike REJA applications, no exclusive statutory defences are eligible to a judgment debtor concerning the corresponding common law actions suing on the foreign judgment.
Enforcement
Once a foreign judgment is registered under the REJA or is successfully sued upon at common law, the time limit for enforcement is six years. Such means of enforcement include obtaining (i) a Writ of Fieri Facias (ii) Charging Order (iii) Writ of Sequestration, (iv) issuing Third Party Debt Proceedings, (v) the Appointment of a Receiver, (vi) Committal; and (vii) winding up. However, the preferred enforcement method will vary and depend on the method best suited for the particular judgment debtor.
*Excerpt taken from Legal 500 Country Comparative Guide – Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil & Commercial Matters (2024)
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