Enforcement of Foreign Non-Monetary Judgments in Canada (and Beyond)

Stephen G.A. Pitel

Associate Professor, Faculty of Law, University of Western Ontario

JPrivIntL Vol 3 Issue 2 (October 2007)

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Abstract

In Pro Swing Inc v Elta Golf Inc the Supreme Court of Canada has continued its development of the common law rules for the enforcement of foreign judgments. It has abandoned the longstanding orthodoxy that to be enforceable a foreign judgment must be for the payment of money. Under the court’s new approach, non-monetary judgments such as injunctions and mandatory orders from other jurisdictions are now enforceable. This article analyses the reasoning behind the court’s liberalization of this aspect of the law on judgment enforcement. It argues that the decision is a positive step forward, one that offers important guidance on how the law might develop in other common law jurisdictions and on how other elements of the rules for enforcement might be revised.

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