HCEO
Foreign judgments
A judgment given outside England and Wales, registered or recognised here and then enforced like any other.
A judgment from another country is not enforceable in England and Wales until an English court has registered or recognised it. Which route applies depends on where the judgment was given, what it is for and when the proceedings began: the Hague Convention for judgments from contracting states, the Administration of Justice Act 1920 and the Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1933 for Commonwealth and treaty countries, and the common law, by fresh proceedings on the judgment debt, where no treaty applies, which is the route for judgments from the United States.
I tell you which route your judgment takes, and what the debtor has in England and Wales that makes it worth taking, before anything is filed. Once the judgment is registered or recognised it is enforced here like any other: a writ of control against the debtor's goods, or a third party debt order or charging order where those fit better.
The routes are set out in a reference section with a page on each.
Enforcement
- Commercial rent arrears
Rent recovered from a commercial tenant under the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007, without a court order.
- Forfeiture and re-entry
Peaceable re-entry to commercial premises where the lease allows it, carried out with a locksmith and recorded so that it stands up in court.
- Possession and eviction
Possession orders enforced under a High Court writ directed to the authorised officer named on it, with the day planned in advance.
- High-value writs of control
Writs of control for judgments of £100,000 and above, against companies with more than one site and more than one kind of asset.
- High-profile cases
Enforcement involving public figures, politically exposed persons or well-known businesses, where reputation and timing matter as much as the writ.