Originally from Enforcement of Money Judgments

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I.  PRESENT ATTITUDE TOWARD THE ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN MONEY JUDGMENTS

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

The Jamaican government and judiciary are prepared to recognize, register and enforce foreign money judgments provided that certain conditions are met and procedures followed. These conditions and procedures are stated in legislation, The Judgments and Awards (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act of 1923 and The Judgments (Foreign) (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act of 1936,  as well as in the common law provisions relating enforcement of such foreign judgments through proceedings in the Jamaican Supreme Court. The legislation and the procedures to enforce a judgment in the Jamaican Supreme Court are discussed in Part II hereto. Jamaican courts and government will allow foreign judgments to be enforced in Jamaica provided that those judgments are registered in accordance with legislation and rules or pursuant to an order of the Jamaican Supreme Court.

The legislation governing the enforcement of a foreign judgment requires that in order for the judgment to be registered in Jamaica, there must be “substantial reciprocity of treatment” in the Superior Courts of that foreign country of judgments given in the Supreme Court of Jamaica. Where there is reciprocity in the Superior Court of the foreign country the Governor General of Jamaica (the titular head of Jamaica and the Queen’s representative in Jamaica) may order that the aforesaid legislation will apply to the judgments of that foreign court. This reciprocity of treatment is a prerequisite for enforcing foreign judgments. However, it should be noted that the aforesaid requirement of reciprocity does not apply to judgments of the Superior Courts of the United Kingdom.

Jamaica is a party to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards (New York, 1958). Though not money judgments, foreign arbitration awards made in accordance with this Convention are enforceable in Jamaica pursuant to the Jamaican Arbitration (Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Awards) Act.
Exchange control restrictions on the remittance from Jamaica of foreign exchange have  been abolished.