On 17 January 2020, the Central Government of India issued a notification (Notification) declaring the United Arab Emirates (UAE) a ‘reciprocating territory’ for the purpose of Section 44A of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 (CPC). In effect, the Notification allows civil decrees / judgments passed by certain specified courts of UAE to be directly executed in India, in a manner akin to a decree of an Indian district court.
On 17 January 2020, the Central Government of India issued a notification (Notification) declaring the United Arab Emirates (UAE) a ‘reciprocating territory’ for the purpose of Section 44A of the Code of Civil Procedure 1908 (CPC). In effect, the Notification allows civil decrees / judgments passed by certain specified courts of UAE to be directly executed in India, in a manner akin to a decree of an Indian district court.
The Notification also sets out specific courts of UAE, which are declared as ‘superior courts’ and consequently, decrees / judgments of these courts may be directly executed in India. These are the: (i) Federal Supreme Court; (ii) Federal, First Instance and Appeals Courts in the Emirates of Abu Dhabi Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al Quwain and Fujairah; (iii) Abu Dhabi Judicial Department; (iv) Dubai Courts; (v) Ras Al Khaimah Judicial Department; (vi) Courts of Abu Dhabi Global Markets; and (vii) Courts of Dubai International Financial Centre.
Enforcement of Foreign Decrees/Judgments in India
Section 13 read with Section 44A of the CPC lays down the law in respect of execution of foreign judgements / decrees in India.
Broadly, there are 2 modes of executing foreign decrees / judgments in India:
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For judgements / decrees passed in non-reciprocating territories, a fresh suit must be filed in the Indian court of competent jurisdiction on the basis of the foreign decree / judgment. This suit is decided in the ordinary course and the decree passed in this fresh suit can be enforced. This can be time consuming and tedious. |
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For judgements / decrees passed by specified courts of reciprocating territories, a petition for execution may be directly filed in the appropriate court. For the purpose of the execution, the foreign decree / judgement is treated like a decree of an Indian district court. |
Effect of the Notification
The Notification adds UAE to the list of 11 other reciprocating territories which notably includes the United Kingdom, Singapore and Hong Kong.
A decree / judgment of a specified UAE court in a civil or commercial matter can now be executed in India with relative ease and a fresh suit need not be filed. This is likely to result in significantly faster execution of UAE decrees / judgements. Another key advantage is that the limitation period for seeking execution of decrees from reciprocating territories is 12 years, as opposed to 3 years for non-reciprocating territories.
It is important to note that in order to execute a UAE judgement in India, certain key conditions must be fulfilled:
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The foreign judgement / decree must pass the tests of conclusiveness laid down under Section 13 of CPC, i.e., that the judgment / decree in question is (a) passed by a court of competent jurisdiction, (b) compliant with natural justice, (c) not vitiated by fraud, (d) compliant with the principles of international law and Indian law, where applicable, (e) a decision on merits, and (f) not in breach of any Indian law. |
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The application for enforcement in India must be filed within 12 years from the date of the decree / judgement passed by the UAE court; and |
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This reciprocity arrangement only applies to decrees of foreign courts under which a sum of money is payable. This impliedly excludes declaratory decrees or other non-money decrees such as injunctions or specific performance. |
- Ravitej Chilumuri (Principal Associate) and Akash Karmarkar (Associate)
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