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 four methods of enforcing foreign judgments in New Zealand. These are enforcement under:
- The Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act 1934. That Act provides a simplified process for enforcing judgments of the (mostly) senior courts of the countries listed in Schedule A below.
- The Senior Courts Act 2016, which provides for the enforcement of judgments from the courts of Commonwealth countries listed in Schedule B below.
- Country specific legislation. New Zealand has enacted legislation that allows for the enforcement of judgments from Australia (the Trans-Tasman Proceedings Act 2010), the Cook Islands (the Cook Islands Act 1915) and Niue (the Niue Act 1966).
- The common law. If the country (or court) from which a judgment originates does not fall within any of New Zealand’s statutory regimes, you will need to apply for summary judgment based on the foreign judgment. It is important to note that the grounds for not enforcing a judgment under common law are greater than those under the statutory regimes (the common law does not operate on the basis of strict reciprocity).
The appropriate method depends on the country and court in which the foreign judgment was given. For each method, there are similar (though not always identical) grounds available to a debtor to resist recognition in New Zealand.
If you would like advice on enforcing a foreign judgment in New Zealand, please contact us.
Schedule A - Countries for which enforcement may be available under the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act 1934
- Belgium
- Botswana
- Cameroon
- Eswatini
- Fiji
- France
- Hong Kong
- India
- Kiribati & Tuvalu
- Lesotho
- Malaysia
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Papua New Guinea
- Samoa
- Singapore
- Solomon Islands
- Sri Lanka
- Tonga
- United Kingdom
Schedule B - Countries whose judgments may be enforceable under the Senior Courts Act 2016
This list is dependent upon membership of the Commonwealth of Nations, it may change over time:
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Australia
- Bahamas
- Bangladesh
- Barbados
- Belize
- Botswana
- Brunei
- Cameroon
- Canada
- Cyprus
- Dominica
- Eswatini
- Fiji
- Gabon
- Gambia
- Ghana
- Grenada
- Guyana
- India
- Jamaica
- Kenya
- Kiribati
- Lesotho
- Malawi
- Malaysia
- Maldives
- Malta
- Mauritius
- Mozambique
- Namibia
- Nauru
- Nigeria
- Pakistan
- Papua New Guinea
- Rawanda
- Saint Lucia
- Samoa
- Seychelles
- Sierra Leone
- Singapore
- Solomon Islands
- South Africa
- Sri Lanka
- St Kitts and Nevis
- St Vincent and The Grenadines
- Tanzania
- Togo
- Tonga
- Trinidad & Tobago
- Tuvalu
- Uganda
- United Kingdom
- Vanuatu
- Zambia
Other guides
Taking Evidence in New Zealand for use in Overseas Proceedings
Litigation funding in New Zealand
Ship Arrests in New Zealand - A practical guide to ship arrests in New Zealand
New Zealand Legal Environment - A summary of the major differences between the New Zealand legal system and other legal systems
