Attitude of Nigerian courts to the enforcement of foreign judgments: an examination of selected decisions of the court of appeal and the supreme court

Abstract

The statutes for registering and enforcing foreign judgments in Nigeria are the Foreign Judgment (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act, Cap 152 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 1990 and the Reciprocal Enforcement Ordinance of 1958. This work examined the above using relevant judicial authorities of both the appellate and the apex courts in Nigeria. It examined recent case law and found that while the former is inchoate, the provision of the latter is more or less a codification of the English common law and this works hardship for modern international commercial transactions. The work concluded that although the Nigerian courts rely on the above statutes, the present state of the law is an open invitation to fraud and improper conduct and, therefore, in serious need of reform. The study therefore called on the Nigerian Minister of Justice to do the needful so that the position of the law as it pertains to the enforcement of foreign judgment in Nigeria will be well settled and devoid of ambiguity.

Keywords: Foreign Judgment, Enforcement, Registration, Recognition, Commerce