Bangladesh - Enforcement of Money Judgments

Though Bangladesh Laws have been mainly derived from the English Laws as the country was under the British rule for about two hundred years, unlike the United Kingdom Bangladesh Government always adopts a very conservative approach towards the enforcement of foreign judgment awards. The government encourages enforcement of foreign money judgments provided it fulfills a number of criteria as defined by the law so that there is no breach of natural justice. Also the Government has not entered into any Multilateral Treaty for the enforcement of foreign judgment but has certain bilateral treaties for the same. In Bangladesh, where applies, enforcement of foreign judgments are much more easy at common law than the general lawsuits. The attitude of the government and Courts is generally to assist in the enforcement of foreign judgment where appropriate.

Any bilateral treaty to have binding effect on the Courts of Bangladesh the terms must be ratified by the Parliament of Bangladesh. The main statutes in force in Bangladesh which provide for enforcement of judgments made in a foreign country are incorporated into the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908. The countries which have reciprocal arrangements with Bangladesh are set out in Appendix II.

Any bilateral agreement only apply to the recognition and enforcement of judgments made in proceedings started if it has been ratified and enacted by notification in the gazette by the Bangladesh Government. The common laws of Bangladesh have no direct operation on a foreign judgment provided the foreign Court had jurisdiction to give the judgment, the judgment will be conclusive in Bangladesh and enforceable, unless it does not fulfill the criterions outlined by the law for enforcement. However, the judgment creditor must first bring an action on the foreign judgment in the local Courts. The judgment creditor cannot sue upon the original cause of action unless the judgment is not enforceable or entitled to recognition in Bangladesh.