Enforcement in Belize of judgments obtained in the High Court of Justice in England or Northern Ireland or in the Court of Sessions in Scotland

(1) Where a judgment has been obtained in the High Court Sessions in Scotland, the judgment-creditor may apply to the Supreme Court of Belize at any time within twelve months after the date of the judgment or such longer period as may be allowed by the court to have the judgment registered in the Supreme Court of Belize, and on any such application the Supreme Court of Belize may, if in all the circumstances of the case it thinks it is just and convenient that the judgment should be enforced in Belize and subject to the provisions of this section, order the judgment to be registered accordingly. (2) No judgment shall be ordered to be registered under this section if, (a) the original court acted without jurisdiction; (b) 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; (c) 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 Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments [CAP. 171 7 business within the jurisdiction of that court or agreed to submit to the jurisdiction of that (d) the judgment was obtained by fraud; (e) 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 (f) 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, (a) 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 up on the date of registration in the Supreme Court of Belize; (b) the Supreme Court of Belize shall have the same control and jurisdiction over the judgment as it has over similar judgments given by itself, but in so far only as relates to execution under this section; (c) 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. 8 (4) Rules of court shall provide, (a) for service on the judgment-debtor of notice of the registration of a judgment under this section; and (b) for enabling the Supreme Court of Belize, on an application by the judgment-debtor, to set aside the registration of a judgment under this section on such terms as the court thinks fit; and (c) 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 Supreme Court of Belize 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 court otherwise orders.