Singapore legislation
Section 3
of Reciprocal Enforcement of Commonwealth Judgments Act 1921
Section 3
Registration in Singapore of judgments obtained in superior courts in the United Kingdom
(1)
Where a judgment has been obtained in a superior court of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland the judgment creditor may apply to the General Division of the High Court at any time within 12 months after the date of the judgment, or such longer period as may be allowed by the General Division of the High Court, to have the judgment registered in the General Division of the High Court, and on any such application the General Division of the High Court may, if in all the circumstances of the case it thinks it is just and convenient that the judgment should be enforced in Singapore, and subject to this section, order the judgment to be registered accordingly.
(2)
No judgment shall be ordered to be registered under this section if —
the original court acted without jurisdiction;
the judgment debtor, being a person who was neither carrying on business nor ordinarily resident within the jurisdiction of the original court, did not voluntarily appear or otherwise submit or agree to submit to the jurisdiction of that court;
the judgment debtor, being the defendant in the proceedings, was not duly served with the process of the original court and did not appear, notwithstanding that he was ordinarily resident or was carrying on business within the jurisdiction of that court or agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of that court;
the judgment was obtained by fraud;
the judgment debtor satisfies the registering court either that an appeal is pending, or that he is entitled and intends to appeal, against the judgment; or
the judgment was in respect of a cause of action which for reasons of public policy or for some other similar reason could not have been entertained by the registering court.
(3)
Where a judgment is registered under this section —
the judgment shall, as from the date of registration, be of the same force and effect, and proceedings may be taken thereon, as if it had been a judgment originally obtained or entered upon the date of registration in the registering court;
the registering court shall have the same control and jurisdiction over the judgment as it has over similar judgments given by itself, but insofar only as relates to execution under this section;
the reasonable costs of and incidental to the registration of the judgment (including the costs of obtaining a certified copy thereof from the original court and of the application for registration) shall be recoverable in like manner as if they were sums payable under the judgment.
(4)
The Rules of Court mentioned in section 6, and the Family Justice Rules mentioned in section 7, must provide —
for service on the judgment debtor of notice of the registration of a judgment under this section;
for enabling the General Division of the High Court on an application by the judgment debtor to set aside the registration of a judgment under this section on such terms as the General Division of the High Court thinks fit; and
for suspending the execution of a judgment registered under this section until the expiration of the period during which the judgment debtor may apply to have the registration set aside.
(5)
In any action brought in the General Division of the High Court on any judgment which might be ordered to be registered under this section, the plaintiff shall not be entitled to recover any costs of the action unless an application to register the judgment under this section has previously been refused, or unless the General Division of the High Court otherwise orders.