Monthly report based on practical experience of our team of advocates in the courts of the UAE. This month, Michael Dark and Mahmoud Awad explain how to enforce a UAE judgment in the United States.

Much is written about the real or perceived difficulties of enforcing a foreign judgment or arbitral award in the UAE.

However, given the importance of the United States as one of the UAE's major trading partners, it is also important for foreign companies to be aware of the possibility of enforcing a UAE judgment in a US court.

Currently, the US is not a signatory to any treaty or convention that would allow the enforcement of a UAE court judgment in the US. Additionally, there is presently no US federal law or act governing the enforcement of foreign judgments1 in US courts. However, there are many instances in which a UAE judgment may still be enforceable in the US either through common law or, where available, statutory law.

Dealing with the common law aspect, the US Supreme Court has held that foreign judgments are more than simply prima facie evidence of liability and should be fully enforceable if they meet specific requirements2. In that case, the US Supreme Court stated that "comity, in a legal sense, is neither a matter of absolute obligation, on the one hand, nor mere courtesy and good will, upon the other." And whilst, the US Supreme Court struck down the enforcement of a French judgment citing lack of reciprocity, nevertheless, the decision established the basic common law principles of enforcing a foreign judgment in US courts. These principles, in one form or another, are still followed today in a minority of US states. While not completely ruling out the enforceability of a UAE judgment, the reciprocity requirement is probably a difficult requirement to satisfy.

On the other hand, however, as of the date of this article, most US states, including New York, Michigan, California and Delaware, have adopted, in whole or in part, the Uniform Foreign Money-Judgment Recognition Act of 1962 (the Act)3 which would allow a UAE money judgment to be enforced in the US irrespective of any reciprocity requirements.

To be eligible for enforcement under the Act, the plaintiff will only need to establish that the UAE judgment was obtained in a fair, impartial court, with due process of law and the court had personal jurisdiction over the defendant. Court impartiality and compliance with due process shall not be difficult to establish given the UAE's progressive legal system. The test is not whether or not the procedure is in accordance with US standards but, instead, whether the procedure used complies with fundamental notions of decency and fairness. For example, in a US court recognised a Romanian judgment even though the Romanian courts were found to be "far from perfect."

In addition, there are certain requirements, which are very similar to those under UAE law, which the US court must consider in deciding whether or not to accept or enforce a UAE judgment under the Act.

However, there are additional elements that may need to be addressed when involved in any UAE litigation that may potentially require enforcement in the US. These include matters such as subject-matter jurisdiction, notice, absence of fraud and public policy.

In these circumstances, the possibility of enforcing a UAE judgment in the US should be carefully considered if the entity in question is believed to have assets in the US.

Footnotes

1. The term "Foreign Judgment" in US legal terminology refers to judgments from outside each state whether it be another US state or a completely different country. For the purposes of this article, the term "Foreign Judgment" will only refer to a judgment obtained outside the United States.

2. Hilton v. Guot, 195 U.S. 113 (1895)

3. Should not be confused with the Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act, which in spite of the similarities in title, is quite different as it only deals with the enforcement of a court judgment from another US state implementing the Full Faith and Credit clause of the US Constitution.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.