JUDGEMENTS

[Registration off foreign judgements] [Setting aside the registered judgement]
[Reciprocal enforcement] [Enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Guyana]

Registration of foreign judgements:

The Foreign Judgements (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act facilitates the enforcement in Guyana of judgements made by the courts in other countries through a system of registration.

An application for registration of a foreign judgement must be made to the High Court within six years of the date of the judgement.

A foreign judgement cannot be registered if at the date of application for registration the judgement:

has been wholly satisfied; or

could not be enforced by execution in the country of the original court, i.e where the judgement was given.

1. On the date of registration a registered judgement has the same force and effect as one given by the court in Guyana.
2. Proceedings may be taken on a registered judgement in the same manner as if that judgement was given by the court in Guyana.
3. The sum for which a judgement is registered carries interest in the same manner a one given by the court in Guyana.
4. The registering court has the same control over the execution of the registered judgement as it does in respect of judgements given by it.

Where the sum payable under a judgement to be registered is expressed in a currency other than Guyana dollars the judgement is registered stating the equivalent in Guyana dollars as based on the rate of exchange prevailing at the date of the judgement of the original court.

If at the date of application for registration the judgement of the original court has been partially satisfied the judgement is registered only in respect of the portion thereof that remains unsatisfied.

Setting aside the registered judgement:

A party against whom a registered judgement may be enforced may apply for the registration of that judgement to be set aside. The registering court must set aside the registration if:

the judgement is not one to which the legislation applies.

the judgement was registered in contravention of the provisions of the Act;

the courts of the country in which the judgement was given had no jurisdiction to make that judgement;

the judgement debtor/ defendant in the proceedings of the original court, did not receive notice of those proceedings in sufficient time to enable him to defend himself and did not appear;

the judgement was obtained by fraud;

the enforcement of the judgement would be contrary to public policy in Guyana; or

the rights under the judgement are not vested in the person by whom the application for registration was made.

Reciprocal enforcement:

Judgements obtained in the following territories may be registered in Guyana:

Trinidad & Tobago

Grenada

St. Lucia

Barbados

Leeward Islands

Belize

Jamaica

Bermuda

St. Vincent

Bahamas

New South Wales

Nigeria

Federation of Nigeria

The Minister may direct that the provisions of the Foreign Judgements (Reciprocal enforcement) Act be extended to any other territory if he is satisfied that that reciprocity of treatment will be accorded in respect of the enforcement of the registration of Guyanese judgements in that other territory.

Enforcement of foreign arbitral awards in Guyana:

Subject to the provisions of the Arbitration Act, a foreign Award of Arbitration is enforceable in Guyana.
Any foreign award enforced under the Act is treated as binding on the persons as between whom it is made and may be relied on by any of those persons by way of defence or otherwise in any legal proceedings.
Conditions for the enforcement of foreign awards: Before a foreign award may be enforced under the Act it must have:

been made in pursuance of an agreement for arbitration which was valid under the law by which it was governed;

been made by the tribunal provided for in the agreement or constituted in the manner agreed upon by the parties;

been in conformity with the law governing the arbitration procedure;

become final in the country in which it was made;

been in respect of a matter which may lawfully be referred to arbitration under the laws of Guyana, and

the enforcement of that award must not be contrary to public policy or the laws of Guyana.

A foreign award is not enforceable in Guyana if-

the award has been annulled in the country in which it was made;

the party against whom the enforcement is sought was not given notice of the arbitration proceedings in sufficient time to enable him to present his case, or was under some legal incapacity and was not properly represented; or

the award does not deal with all the question referred for arbitration or contains discussion on matters beyond the scope of the agreement for arbitration.

A party seeking to enforce a foreign award must produce-

the original award or a copy duly authenticated in the manner required by the laws of the country in which it was made;

evidence proving that the award has become final. An award is not deemed final where any proceedings for the purposes of contesting its validity are pending in the country in which it was made.

such evidence as may be necessary to prove that the award is a foreign award and that all the necessary conditions for enforcement in Guyana are satisfied.


Disclaimer: The information contained in this website is not intended to replace the advice of an attorney-at-law. For further information or legal advice we invite you to contact our office.