UK to Sign the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters ‘As Soon As Possible’

At a Glance

• Commentators observed how signing the Hague Convention was important in the absence of a comprehensive framework between the UK and EU covering civil and commercial judgments.
• The move also is seen as a step in encouraging the use of the UK as a forum for dispute resolution.
• Additionally, there was strong support for the use of a ‘registration model’, which requires foreign judgments to be registered prior to their enforcement in the UK by creditors.

On 23 November 2023, the UK government published its response to its consultation on the Hague Convention of 2 July 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters (Hague Convention). The Hague Convention provides a global framework of uniform rules for the recognition and enforcement of civil and commercial judgments across different jurisdictions. The Hague Convention entered into force for Ukraine and all EU member states (except Denmark) on 1 September 2023. It has also been signed by the United States of America and the Russian Federation (among others), although not yet ratified. The UK government’s response declared that ‘the Government will move to sign the Convention as soon as possible’.

Most countries, including the UK, have domestic rules that allow judgments reached in other jurisdictions to be recognised and enforced in certain circumstances. However, these rules differ between countries, and attempts to enforce a foreign judgment can often lead to relitigating certain aspects of the case. In contrast, the Hague Convention offers a standardised approach between jurisdictions that increases legal certainty for parties operating in cross-border matters. 

Respondents to the consultation were strongly in favour of the UK joining the Hague Convention. Commentators observed how signing the Hague Convention was important in the absence of a comprehensive framework between the UK and EU covering civil and commercial judgments. Further, the move is seen as a step in encouraging the use of the UK as a forum for dispute resolution. There was also strong support for the use of a ‘registration model’, which requires foreign judgments to be registered prior to their enforcement in the UK by creditors. This is a similar method to existing UK law on foreign judgment enforcement and would therefore be easier to implement. It allows a creditor to register the foreign judgment with a UK court, which will then decide if the conditions for recognition under the Hague Convention have been met. If a judgment debtor wishes to object to the recognition of the foreign judgment in question, it can do so before the judgment becomes enforceable. Importantly, the Hague Convention of 2019 also allows for the recognition and enforcement of judgments deriving from asymmetric and nonexclusive choice of court agreements.

The government also agreed with respondents that the UK should not make any initial declarations on joining the Hague Convention, as these would place restrictions on its implementation that would reduce the uniformity of application between contracting states. The government will, however, continue to review any such declarations that it may choose to make in the future, particularly in light of any attempts by the Russian Federation to ratify the Hague Convention. 

The response concluded that ‘it is the right time for the UK to join Hague 2019 and [the government] will seek to do so as soon as practicable’. The Hague Convention is set to expand in the next few years, and the UK will be well-placed to play a leading role in its development and interpretation.