If you have a judgment of a foreign court against a New Zealand resident or an owner of assets in New Zealand, it may be possible to enforce that judgment in New Zealand.

As well as enforcement, a foreign judgment may be used as a defence to a New Zealand court action or pleaded as being conclusive of an issue in an action.
There are three methods of enforcing foreign judgments in New Zealand:

• Reciprocal enforcement under statute.
• Enforcement of commonwealth judgments under statute.
• Enforcement under the common law.

The appropriate method depends on the country in which the foreign judgment was given.

Is your judgment from one of the following countries?

Australia Bechuanaland (Botswana) Belgium Pakistan Cameroon Ceylon Corsica England Fiji France Gilbert & Ellice Islands (Kiribati & Tuvalu) Hong Kong India Malaya (Malaysia)

Nigeria Norfolk Island Northern Ireland Papua New Guinea Sarawak Singapore Solomon Islands Sri Lanka Swaziland Tonga Scotland Wales Western Samoa

The judgment may be enforceable under the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act 1934, as it is given by a country with which New Zealand has a reciprocal agreement.

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Is your judgment from a Commonwealth country?

Antigua and Barbuda Australia Bahamas Bangladesh Barbados Belize Botswana Canada Cyprus Dominica Fiji Gambia Ghana (United Republic of) Grenada Guyana India Jamaica Kenya Kiribati Lesotho Malawi Zambia Malaysia

Malta Mauritius Nauru Nigeria Papua New Guinea Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Solomon Islands Sri Lanka St Lucia St Vincent and the Grenadines Swaziland Tanzania Tonga Trinidad & Tobago Tuvalu Uganda United Kingdom Vanuatu Western Samoa Zimbabwe

If so, the judgment is enforceable under the Judicature Act 1908 provided the judgment is for a sum of money.

If your judgment is from any other country not listed and which is not a Commonwealth country (eg the United States), the judgment is enforceable at common law in New Zealand.

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