8 February 2023
Disputes Quick Read – 24 of 87 Insights
Disputes Quick Read: Why the UK should join the Hague Judgments Convention 2019
What is it?
The Hague Judgments Convention 2019 is an international convention that aims to create a common framework for cross-border recognition and enforcement of court judgments in civil or commercial matters between contracting states. It was concluded in 2019 and has been acceded to by 26 of the 27 EU member states (excluding Denmark) and ratified by Ukraine. It will enter into force in all these jurisdictions on 1 September 2023, a year after accession/ratification. Several other states have signed it but not ratified it, including the United States.
The UK has not signed it. A consultation on the issue of whether it should join has been launched and closes today.
What are the 2019 Hague Convention advantages?
- If more states ratify it then it has the potential to provide a global framework for the recognition and enforcement of court judgments, reducing the costs and complexities of the current cross-border enforcement process. Just as the New York Convention has made enforcement of arbitral awards far easier in the over 170 contracting states to it, and is a big appeal factor of arbitration, so this has the potential to introduce something (somewhat) similar for court judgments.
- It applies to judgments where there is a non-exclusive jurisdiction clause, including asymmetrical jurisdiction clauses, and so is broader in scope than the 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements (to which the UK has already acceded). It also applies to a wider range of disputes. It therefore provides for a more straightforward recognition and enforcement regime for that wider range of disputes.
- While of wider application than the 2005 Hague Convention, certain matters are still excluded, including disputes involving insolvency, intellectual property and certain antitrust matters.
- It does not address jurisdiction at all. This increases the risk of parallel proceedings in different jurisdictions when recognition or enforcement under the 2019 Hague Convention could be postponed or refused. Work has started on a separate convention to deal with jurisdiction.
So why does it matter?
Following the UK's exit from the EU and the end of the transition period, there is a significant gap in the legal framework for the reciprocal recognition and enforcement of judgments between the UK and the EU. Currently, where the 2005 Hague Convention does not apply, the position reverts to domestic law rules and (potentially) any separate bilateral treaties. In practice this means a party wishing to enforce either a judgment of the English and Welsh courts in an EU member state, or a judgment of the courts of an EU member state in England and Wales, will likely need to commence new proceedings (where they wish to enforce) which takes time and increases costs.
The 2019 Hague Convention would help to fill the gap. It is not a perfect solution. It does not replicate the scope of the legal framework that applied before the UK left the EU: the Brussels Regime and the Lugano Convention. However, since the UK has been unable to join the Lugano Convention, for now, this looks to be the next best thing.
If the UK does ratify the 2019 Hague Convention, then it will only take effect a year after ratification and has no retroactive effect. It would, therefore, only apply to proceedings which are started after it comes into force, so earliest would be proceedings started in 2024.
Overall, however, given that it looks like we will have to accept a patchwork of regimes following Brexit, this is a welcome start to help fill the gap, to give a boost to English and Welsh courts for cross-border matters and a possible step to an even more global framework.
We will report on the Ministry of Justice's report when it is published later this year.
If you would like to know more, please reach out to a member of our Disputes & Investigations team.
In this series
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Witness familiarisation - does it affect the court's assessment of witness credibility?
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The use of AI in Trial Witness Statements post-PD 57AC
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CAT to hear the first application for a collective settlement approval order
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Supreme Court rules that APP fraud victims cannot rely on Quincecare Duty
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The Law Commission's Consultation Process on the Arbitration Act 1996 – taking stock
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What does the latest decision of the CAT in the Mastercard/Visa proceedings mean for class actions?
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Disputes Quick Read: ClientEarth refused permission to pursue directors of Shell
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Disputes Quick Read – developments in the fixed costs regime
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Disputes Quick Read: Service by email – are the rules any clearer?
20 April 2023
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Disputes Quick Read - What do practitioners think about making alternative dispute resolution (ADR) compulsory?
8 March 2023
Disputes Quick Read: What are the litigation trends for 2023?
2 March 2023
Disputes Quick Read: further guidance on witness statement preparation rules
14 February 2023
Disputes Quick Read: A cautionary tale – settlement agreement (un)wittingly releases all claims for fraud
13 February 2023
Disputes Quick Read: Why the UK should join the Hague Judgments Convention 2019
8 February 2023
Disputes Quick Read: extensive information orders granted against crypto exchanges following hack
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Disputes Quick Read: A new approach to giving evidence? WhatsApp with that?
3 October 2022
Disputes Quick Read: Ethereum Merge - what legal issues arise?
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by Ben Jones, Emma Allen
Disputes Quick Read: New obligations on cryptobusinesses to report under the UK sanctions regime
9 August 2022
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Disputes Quick Read: Disclosure - What information can be redacted?
25 July 2022
Disputes Quick Read: what claims exist when a smart contract is breached?
6 July 2022
by Emma Allen
Disputes Quick Read: New gateway for serving Norwich Pharmacal Orders and Bankers Trust orders out of the jurisdiction
Welcome news for those pursuing fraud claims in the English Courts
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Disputes Quick Read: Defining the duty - the limits of the responsibility assumed by professionals
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Disputes Quick Read: Climate change litigation – successful challenge to government's Net Zero Strategy
29 July 2022
Disputes Quick Read: Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 – now in force
17 June 2022
Disputes Quick Read: an important reminder of the duty to disclose electronic documents in native format
13 June 2022
Disputes Quick Read: ENRC prevails in claim against former solicitor
26 May 2022
Disputes Quick Read: Climate change litigation update – McGaughey v Universities Superannuation Scheme Limited
31 May 2022
by Multiple authors
Don't lose your keys: Bitcoin developers do not have a duty to assist owners in recovering lost cryptocurrency
4 April 2022
Disputes Quick Read: The new witness statement preparation rules – a year on
5 April 2022
Disputes Quick Read: ClientEarth v Shell – climate change litigation shifts focus to UK companies
31 March 2022
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Disputes Quick Read: High Court rules that failure to provide adequate data security is not a positive act
21 September 2021
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Disputes Quick Read: Key changes to the Disclosure Pilot Scheme
13 September 2021
Disputes Quick Read: Judicial Review and Courts Bill – unpacking the UK government's proposed amendments
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Disputes Quick Read: Will litigants be compelled to participate in alternative dispute resolution?
2 August 2021
Disputes Quick Read: Freezing injunctions – maximum custodial sentence imposed for breach
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Disputes Quick Read: The online future of civil justice – the end of the legal profession or the end of legal drudgery?
15 July 2021
Disputes Quick Read: Will the courts change forever post-COVID?
26 May 2021
Disputes Quick Read: One Blackfriars administrators cleared of misfeasance
5 May 2021
Disputes Quick Read: Not your prerogative – the Independent Review of Administrative Law reports its recommendations on judicial review
21 April 2021
Disputes Quick Read: Amendments to the Disclosure Pilot Scheme – a step in the right direction
31 March 2021
Disputes Quick Read: UK Supreme Court rules on the territorial extent of the SFO's powers
26 February 2021
Disputes Quick Read: No dropping anchor – parent company liability for environmental claims
24 February 2021
Disputes Quick Read: What lawyers need to know about new witness statement preparation rules
20 January 2021
Disputes Quick Read: Should you still choose the English courts to have jurisdiction in your international contracts after Brexit?
12 January 2021
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Disputes Quick Read: Privilege lost in the EU post-Brexit (with exceptions)
23 November 2020
Disputes Quick Read: Law on interest applicable to US dollar awards reaffirmed
16 October 2020
Disputes Quick Read: Care required when drafting SPA claim notices
23 September 2020
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Disputes Quick Read: Why the modernised LCIA rules are a welcome update
7 October 2020
by Nick Storrs
Disputes Quick Read: COVID-19 and supply chain disruption – key issues
9 April 2020
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Disputes Quick Read: High Court orders parties to explore options for 5-week remote trial
15 April 2020
Disputes Quick Read: Tomlin Orders – ensuring the confidentiality of settlement terms
27 April 2020
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Disputes Quick Read: UK's OFSI fines Standard Chartered Bank £20 million for sanctions breaches
21 April 2020
Disputes Quick Read: A different approach to witness evidence
11 March 2020
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Disputes Quick Read: Coronavirus - a growth in virtual courts?
17 March 2020
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Disputes Quick Read: Embracing remote hearings – the experience to date
26 March 2020
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Disputes quick read: climate change activism by litigation
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Disputes Quick Read: Commercial Court's arbitral power shift
21 February 2020
Disputes Quick Read: Court stays evictions during COVID-19 – is this lawful?
2 June 2020
Disputes Quick Read: Will the civil justice system change forever post COVID-19?
16 June 2020
Disputes Quick Read: Retailers reign supreme in Visa and Mastercard proceedings
9 July 2020
Disputes Quick Read: The contra proferentem rule reconsidered?
21 July 2020
Disputes Quick Read: Scope of duty and the SAAMCo counterfactual following Manchester Building Society
3 December 2021
Disputes Quick Read: Facilitating transactions in cryptoassets - Lord Leggatt and the point of commercial law
24 November 2021
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Disputes Quick Read: Privy Council clarifies the law on freezing injunctions in aid of foreign proceedings
8 October 2021
Disputes Quick Read: Climate change litigation – what's the latest?
10 January 2022
Disputes Quick Read: Court decisions on the Disclosure Pilot Scheme – the 2021 roundup
20 January 2022
Disputes Quick Read: Assumption of responsibility - tax schemes and investors
22 March 2022
Disputes Quick Read: Dealing in crypto? Be careful what you call it
7 April 2022
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