We are pleased to announce the launch of the first edition of the SIFoCC Multilateral Memorandum on Enforcement of Commercial Judgments for Money.

The Memorandum sets out an account of the procedures for the enforcement of judgments of one jurisdiction in the courts of another. It concerns commercial judgments requiring a person to pay a sum of money to another person, although some contributions touch on the position with other forms of judgment. Importantly, the account is from the enforcing country itself.

Contributed by 32 of the SIFoCC member jurisdictions from all over the world it is hoped that this first of its kind Memorandum will prove a useful tool in global enforcement.

Enforcement was among the subjects put under the spotlight by the SIFoCC membership at the first meeting in London 2017. This was followed by approval of the contributions at its second meeting in New York in September 2018. The membership will reconvene in Singapore in March 2020, and the agenda set to include equally relevant common interests impacting commercial courts and their users.

The aim of producing a collaborative tool such as the Memorandum, along with SIFoCC’s other work, is to demonstrate cooperation, provide a mutual understanding of laws and judicial processes in this area, and improve public perception and understanding.

Lord Thomas, former Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales, former judge of the Commercial Court and Chair of the SIFoCC Steering Group said that “This Memorandum is a landmark step. It shows to users the readiness of the world’s commercial courts to enforce each other’s judgments. SIFoCC is pleased to have facilitated the exchanges that led to it”.