One of the most intriguing international legal issues over the past several years has been a foreign country’s willingness to recognize a judgment or order given by a court in the United States in that country or vice versa. 

For instance, if you are injured in a car accident in Massachusetts and the at fault driver was from New York, you could seek to enforce a Massachusetts judgment for money damages against the at fault New York driver in a New York court.  Under the “Full Faith and Credit” clause of the U.S. Constitution, the New York court may recognize the judgment handed down in Massachusetts. 

But what if you are injured in a car accident in England and you are a United States or Indian Citizen?  What if your Massachusetts company was importing food products from Asia and your shipment never arrived?  It may be extremely difficult to settle the dispute when one party is on a completely different Continent and being governed under an entirely foreign set of laws.  Further, even if the parties could come to an agreement on which country’s laws should apply, one party may not wish to travel to the other country to settle the dispute.  

One of the most effective means of remedying this problem is the Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters.   Under the Hague Convention, countries that sign the convention agree to enforce judgments or orders handed down by a court in that country.  Thus, if the Asian company that failed to deliver your shipment of food products was located in a country that is a signatory to the Hague Convention and you were able to obtain a judgment in a Massachusetts court, you could seek to enforce the judgment in that country and possibly recover damages for your company’s losses as a result of the undelivered goods.  In fact the Hague Convention goes as far as to allow an individual to enforce a judgment in any country that is a signatory to the Convention even if that country had nothing to do with the original dispute.
 
While the Hague Convention appears at first glance to be a fairly straight forward and simple way of resolving international disputes, one can easily imagine the frustration of an individual against whom a judgment has been issued under a foreign set of laws, which may be fundamentally different that those of the country in which he or she resides. 

Currently, there are 49 member countries of the Hague Conference.  Although there is talk of adopting the Hague Convention, India has not yet signed.  

This, of course, has frustrated individuals who wish to have a stream-lined mechanism to enforce judgments and orders in India and/or enforce Indian judgments and orders in the United States, however, as with any legal matter, consulting with an experienced attorney is strongly advised.
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*  THE INFORMATION CONTAINED HEREIN IS GENERAL LEGAL INFORMATION ONLY.  IT IS NOT INTENDED NOR SHOULD IT BE USED AS SPECIFIC LEGAL ADVICE ON A PARTICULAR ISSUE OR FOR A PARTICULAR PERSON OR PURPOSE.  IF YOU ARE SEEKING LEGAL ADVICE FOR A SPECIFIC SITUATION, YOU SHOULD SEEK THE ADVICE OF AN ATTORNEY QUALIFIED IN THE LEGAL AREA IN WHICH YOU NEED ADVICE. 

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