General effect of certain foreign judgments
Open ↗11.—(1) Subject to this section, a judgment to which Part 1 applies or would have applied if a sum of money had been payable thereunder, whether or not it can be or is registered, shall be recognised in any court in Singapore as conclusive between the parties thereto in all proceedings founded on the same cause of action and may be relied on by way of defence or counterclaim in any such proceedings.
(2) This section shall not apply in the case of any judgment —(a)
where the judgment has been registered and the registration thereof has been set aside on some ground other than —(i)
that a sum of money was not payable under the judgment;
(ii)
that the judgment had been wholly or partly satisfied; or
(iii)
that at the date of the application the judgment could not be enforced in the country of the original court; or[Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022]
(b)
where the judgment has not been registered, it is shown (whether it could have been registered or not) that if it had been registered the registration thereof would have been set aside on an application for that purpose on some ground other than one of the grounds specified in paragraph (a).
(3) Nothing in this section shall be taken to prevent any court in Singapore recognising any judgment as conclusive of any matter of law or fact decided therein if that judgment would have been so recognised before 21 March 1959.
Power to make foreign judgments unenforceable in Singapore if no reciprocity
Open ↗12.—(1) If it appears to the Minister that the treatment in respect of recognition and enforcement accorded by the courts of a foreign country to judgments given in a court of Singapore, is substantially less favourable than that accorded by the courts in Singapore to judgments of a court of that country that is similar to the firstmentioned court of Singapore, the Minister may by order apply this section to that country.[25/2019]
(2) Except insofar as the Minister may by order under this section otherwise direct, no proceedings shall be entertained in any court in Singapore for the recovery of any sum alleged to be payable under judgment given in a court of a country to which this section applies.
(3) The Minister may by a subsequent order vary or revoke any order previously made under this section.
Issue of certificates of judgments obtained in Singapore
Open ↗13.—(1) Where —(a)
a judgment has been given in a court of Singapore; and
(b)
the judgment creditor desires to enforce the judgment in a foreign country to which Part 1 applies,
the registrar of the court of Singapore, on an application made by a judgment creditor and on payment of such fee as may be prescribed, is to issue to the judgment creditor certified copies of the pleadings, order of court and written grounds of decision (if any), together with a certificate that contains such particulars as may be prescribed by the Rules of Court or Family Justice Rules.
[25/2019]
(2) Where enforcement of a judgment is stayed for any period pending an appeal or for any other reason, an application shall not be made under subsection (1) with respect to the judgment until the expiration of that period.[Act 25 of 2021 wef 01/04/2022]
