CHAPTER 11:04
JUDGMENTS (INTERNATIONAL ENFORCEMENT)
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
SECTION
PART I
Preliminary
1. Short title
PART II
Judgments Generally
2. Interpretation
3. Application of Part II
4. Continuance of existing provisions
5. Registration of judgment
6. Rules of court
7. Cases in which registered judgment must, or may be set aside
8. Powers of registering court on application to set aside registration
9. Foreign judgments which can be registered not to be enforceable otherwise
10. General effect of certain foreign judgments
11. Power to make foreign judgments unenforceable in Botswana if no reciprocity
12. Issue of certificates of judgments obtained in Botswana
PART III
Maintenance Orders
13. Interpretation
14. Application of Part III
15. Registration of foreign maintenance order
16. Confirmation of foreign provisional order
17. Transmission of maintenance order for registration abroad
18. Making of provisional order against person resident abroad
19. Communications between courts
20. Mode of enforcing orders
21. Proof of documents signed by officers of foreign court
22. Depositions to be evidence
Act 16, 1981.
An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to the enforcement in Botswana of judgments given in countries which accord reciprocal treatment to judgments given in Botswana, for facilitating the enforcement in other countries of judgments given in Botswana and for other purposes connected therewith.
[Date of Commencement: 25th September, 1981]
PART I
Preliminary (s 1)
This Act may be cited as the Judgments (International Enforcement) Act.
PART II
Judgments Generally (ss 2-12)
In this Part, unless the contrary intention appears—
"appeal" includes any proceeding by way of discharging or setting aside a judgment or an application for a new trial or a stay of execution;
"country of the original court" means the country in which the original court is situated;
"judgment" means a judgment or order given or made by a court in any civil proceedings or a judgment or order given or made by a court in any criminal proceedings for the payment of a sum of money in respect of compensation or damages to an injured party, and includes an award in proceedings on arbitration if the award has, in pursuance of the law in force in the place where it was made, become enforceable in the same manner as a judgment given by a court in that place;
"judgment creditor" means the person in whose favour the judgment was given and includes any person in whom the rights under the judgment have become vested by succession or assignment or otherwise;
"judgment debtor" means the person against whom the judgment was given, and includes any person against whom the judgment is enforceable under the law of the original court;
"judgments given in the High Court" include judgments given on appeal against any judgments so given;
"original court", in relation to any judgment, means the court by which the judgment was given;
"prescribed" means prescribed by rules of court;
"registering court", in relation to any judgment, means the court to which an application to register the judgment is made;
"registration" means registration under this Part.
(2) For the purposes of this Part, "action in personam" shall not include any matrimonial cause or any proceedings in connection with any of the following matters, that is to say, matrimonial matters, administration of the estates of deceased persons, insolvency, winding-up of companies, lunacy, or guardianship of infants.
(1) Where the President is satisfied that, in the event of the benefits conferred by this Part being extended to judgments given in the superior courts of any country, substantial reciprocity of treatment will be assured as respects the enforcement in that country of judgments given in the High Court of Botswana, the President may, by statutory instrument, order—
(a) that this Part shall extend to that country; and
(b) that such courts of that country as are specified in the order shall be the superior courts of that country for the purposes of this Part.
(2) Any judgment of a superior court of a country to which this Part extends, other than a judgment of such a court given on appeal from a court which is not a superior court, shall be a judgment to which this Part applies, if—
(a) it is final and conclusive between the parties thereto;
(b) there is payable thereunder a sum of money, not being a sum payable in respect of taxes or other charges of a like nature or in respect of a fine or other penalty; and
(c) it is given after the coming into operation of the order directing that this Part shall extend to that country.
(3) For the purposes of this section, a judgment shall be deemed to be final and conclusive notwithstanding that an appeal may be pending against it, or that it may still be subject to appeal, in the courts of the country of the original court.
4. Continuance of existing provisions
(1) This Part also extends to every country to which the United Kingdom Judgments Act applied immediately before the commencement of this Part.
(2) The President may by statutory instrument declare, as respects any country, that—
(a) it is a country to which, by virtue of subsection (1), this Part extends; and
(b) such courts of that country as are specified in the declaration are superior courts of that country for the purposes of this Part,
and the declaration shall be conclusive as to those matters.
(3) The purpose of a declaration under subsection (2) is to facilitate the ascertainment of the matters to which it relates and the fact that a declaration has not been made as respects any country shall not affect the question whether, by virtue of subsection (1), this Part extends to that country or what courts are superior courts of that country.
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