Define the term Foreign Judgment

Question: Define the term Foreign Judgment.

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Answer

Foreign Judgment- According to Section 2(6) of CPC, 1908, “foreign judgment” means the judgment of a foreign Court. CPC provides the procedure for the enforcement of foreign judgments in India and requires the judgment or decree passed by the foreign court to be conclusive in nature and it should have been decided on the merits of the case by a court of competent jurisdiction. Section 13 of the CPC underlies the principle of res judicata and any judgment passed by a foreign court can be enforced in India and will act as res judicata between the subject parties.

A foreign judgment is conclusive as to any matter directly adjudicated upon thereby but it does not include the reasons for the judgment given by the foreign court. What is conclusive under Section 13 is the judgment and not the reasons.

The object behind this provision is to give respect to the judgment of a competent foreign court and a legal obligation arises to satisfy the claim. In Private International Law, certain rules are regarded as common to civilized nations. This recognition is accorded on the rules of justice, equity, and good conscience.

In Raj Rajendra Sardar Moloji Nar Singh v. Shankar Saran, AIR 1962 SC 1737, the court held that the crucial date to determine whether the judgment is of a foreign court or not is the date of the judgment and not the date when it is sought to be enforced or executed.

Section 13 of the CPC clearly says that a foreign judgment shall be conclusive/ binding as to any matter which has been directly adjudicated upon between the parties except under certain circumstances which have been specified in this section. In the case of Brijal Ramjidas v. Govindram Gordhandas Seksaria (1943) 45 BOMLR 358, the Supreme Court held that Section 13 speaks not only of judgment but any matter thereby directly adjudicated upon.

In D. Viswanathan v. Rukun ul Mulk Sayed Abdul, AIR 1963 SC 1, the Supreme Court held that while considering whether a judgment of a foreign court is conclusive, the courts in India will not require to go into the merits of the claim and it shall be conclusive as to any matter directly adjudicated between such parties subject to exceptions enumerated under Section 13, clause (a) to (f).

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