Originally from Enforcement of Money Judgments

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I. PRESENT ATTITUDE TOWARD ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN MONEY JUDGMENTS.

A. Describe the receptiveness of your government (including courts) toward enforcement of foreign money judgments.

In Fiji foreign judgments can be enforced under:

• Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments Act 1922 (“1922 Act”); 

• Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act Cap 40 Laws of Fiji (“1935 Act”)

(1922 Act and 1935 Act together “Acts”); and

• The rules of common law.

Once registered under one of the Acts, a foreign judgment can be enforced as a judgment of the High Court of Fiji.  

Fiji gives recognition to judgments of countries that recognises Fiji judgments.

B. Briefly describe recent illustrative attempts, whether successful or unsuccessful, to enforce a foreign money judgment in your country, particularly with regard to enforcement of any judgments from United States courts.

In Hilo Fish Company v Feeders Seafood (Fiji) Limited, Ian Chute and Ors, High Court of Fiji, HBC 23 of 2000 (unreported), the plaintiff had obtained a default judgment in a Hawaiian Court. The plaintiff brought an action to enforce the judgment in Fiji. A preliminary issue arose as to whether the defendants had submitted to the jurisdiction of the Hawaiian Court. The High Court ruled that since the first and second defendants had applied to set aside the default judgment in the Hawaiian Court they had submitted to its jurisdiction therefore the judgment could be enforced against them.

In SSII Liquidation LLC v South Seas Investment Inc, High Court of Fiji, HBC 239 of 2019 (www.paclii.org), an application was made for registration of an order from the Circuit Court of the County of Fairfax, Virginia, USA in the High Court of Fiji. The Court held that the Acts were restricted to the registration of judgments for the payment of money and do not apply to judgments or orders made in the USA