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RECIPROCAL ENFORCEMENT OF JUDGMENTS ACT 1958 is Malaysia Act, cited as Act 99 1958, currently marked in force and first recorded in 1958.
Opening note
Part I
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments
Act 1958.
Interpretation
“action in personam” shall not be deemed to include any matrimonial cause or any proceedings in connection with any matrimonial matters, administration of the estates of deceased persons, bankruptcy, winding up of companies, lunacy or guardianship of infants;
“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 reciprocating 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, except in relation to a country or territory outside the Commonwealth,
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includes an award in proceedings in an arbitration if the award has, pursuant to 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; and a judgment given in any court on appeal from a judgment given in the High Court shall be deemed to be a judgment given in the High Court;
“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;
“original court” in relation to any judgment means the court by which the judgment was given;
“prescribed” means prescribed by rules of court;
“reciprocating country” means any country or territory including the United Kingdom to which this Act for the time being applies and which is specified in the First Schedule;
“registration” means registration under Part II, and the expressions
“register” and “registered” shall be construed accordingly;
“registering court” in relation to any judgment means the court to which an application to register the judgment is made;
“superior courts” means the courts of a reciprocating country so described in the First Schedule.
Part II
Part II to extend to reciprocating countries
The Yang di-Pertuan Agong may, if he 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 or territory outside Malaysia, substantial reciprocity of treatment will be assured as respects the enforcement in that country or territory of judgments given in the High Court, by order extend this Part to that country or territory and may, by the same or a different order, amend the First
Schedule to add that country or territory thereto and specify what courts of that country or territory shall be deemed to be superior courts for the purposes of this Part.
Any judgment of a superior court, 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—
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
being a judgment from a country or territory added to the
First Schedule pursuant to subsection (2), it is given after that country or territory is added to that Schedule.
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.
Application for and effect of registration of judgment
Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments 7
Subject to the provisions of this Act with respect to the setting aside of registration—
a registered judgment shall, for the purposes of execution, be of the same force and effect;
the registering court shall have the same control over the execution of a registered judgment;
as if the judgment had been a judgment originally given in the registering court and entered on the date of registration:
Provided that execution shall not issue on the judgment so long as, under this Part and the rules of court made for the purposes thereof, it is competent for any party to make an application to have the registration of the judgment set aside, or, where such an application is made, until after the application has been finally determined.
Where the sum payable under a judgment which is to be registered is expressed in a currency other than Malaysian currency, the judgment shall be registered as if it were a judgment for such sum in Malaysian currency as, on the basis of the rate of exchange prevailing at the date of the judgment of the original court, is equivalent to the sum so payable.
If at the date of the application for registration the judgment of the original court has been partly satisfied, the judgment shall not be registered in respect of the whole sum payable under the judgment of the original court, but only in respect of the balance remaining payable at that date.
If, on an application for the registration of a judgment, it appears to the registering court that the judgment is in respect of different matters and that some, but not all, of the provisions of the judgment are such that if those provisions had been contained in separate judgments those judgments could properly have been registered, the judgment may be registered in respect of the provisions aforesaid but not in respect of any other provisions contained therein.
Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments 9
In addition to the sum of money payable under the judgment of the original court, including any interest which by the law of the country of the original court becomes due under the judgment up to the time of registration, the judgment shall be registered for the reasonable costs of and incidental to registration, including the costs of obtaining a certified copy of the judgment from the original court.
Cases in which registered judgments must, or may, be set aside
that the judgment is not a judgment to which this
Part applies or was registered in contravention of this Act;
that the courts of the country of the original court had no jurisdiction in the circumstances of the case;
that the judgment debtor, being the defendant in the proceedings in the original court, did not
(notwithstanding that process may have been duly served on him in accordance with the law of the country of the original court) receive notice of those proceedings in sufficient time to enable him to defend the proceedings and did not appear;
that the enforcement of the judgment would be contrary to public policy in Malaysia; or
that the rights under the judgment are not vested in the person by whom the application for registration was made; and
may be set aside if the registering court is satisfied that the matter in dispute in the proceedings in the original court had previously to the date of the judgment in the original court been the subject of a final and conclusive judgment by a court having jurisdiction in the matter.
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For the purposes of this section the courts of the country of the original court shall, subject to subsection (3), be deemed to have had jurisdiction—
if the judgment debtor, being a defendant in the original court, submitted to the jurisdiction of that court by voluntarily appearing in the proceedings otherwise than for the purpose of protecting, or obtaining the release of, property seized, or threatened with seizure, in the proceedings or of contesting the jurisdiction of that court;
if the judgment debtor was plaintiff in, or counter-claimed in, the proceedings in the original court;
if the judgment debtor, being a defendant in the original court, had before the commencement of the proceedings agreed, in respect of the subject matter of the proceedings to submit to the jurisdiction of that court or of the courts of the country of that court;
if the judgment debtor, being a defendant in the original court, was at the time when the proceedings were instituted resident in, or being a body corporate had its principal place of business in, the country of that court; or
if the judgment debtor, being a defendant in the original court, had an office or place of business in the country of that court and the proceedings in that court were in respect of a transaction effected through or at that office or place;
in the case of a judgment given in an action of which the subject matter was immovable property or in an action in rem of which the subject matter was movable property, if the property in question was at the time of the proceedings in the original court situate in the country of that court;
and
in the case of a judgment given in an action other than any such action as is mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b), if the jurisdiction of the original court is recognized by the law of Malaysia.
Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments 11
Notwithstanding anything in subsection (2), the courts of the country of the original court shall not be deemed to have had jurisdiction—
if the subject matter of the proceedings was immovable property outside the country of the original court;
except in the cases mentioned in subparagraph (2)(a)(i),
, (iii) and paragraph (c), if the bringing of the proceedings in the original court was contrary to an agreement under which the dispute in question was to be settled otherwise than by proceedings in the courts of the country of that court; or
if the judgment debtor, being a defendant in the original proceedings, was a person who under the rules of public international law was entitled to immunity from the jurisdiction of the courts of the country of the original court and did not submit to the jurisdiction of that court.
Powers of registering court on application to set aside registration
Where the registration of a judgment is set aside under subsection (1), or solely for the reason that the judgment was not at the date of the application for registration enforceable by execution in the country of the original court, the setting aside of the registration shall not prejudice a further application to register the judgment when the appeal has been disposed of or if and when the judgment becomes enforceable by execution in that country, as the case may be.
Where the registration of a judgment is set aside solely for the reason that the judgment, notwithstanding that it had at the date of the application for registration been partly satisfied, was registered for the whole sum payable thereunder, the registering court shall, on the application of the judgment creditor, order judgment to be registered for the balance remaining payable at that date.
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Judgments which can be registered not to be enforceable otherwise
No proceedings for the recovery of a sum payable under a judgment of a superior court, being a judgment to which this Part applies, other than proceedings by way of registration of the judgment, shall be entertained by any court in Malaysia.
Part III
General effect of certain judgments
This section shall not apply in the case of any judgment—
where the judgment has been registered and the registration thereof has been set aside on some ground other than—
that a sum of money was not payable under the judgment;
that at the date of the application the judgment could not be enforced by execution in the country of the original court; or
where the judgment has not been registered, it is shown
(whether it could have been registered or not) that if it had been registered the registration thereof would have been set aside on an application for that purpose on some ground other than one of the grounds specified in paragraph (a).
Nothing in this section shall be taken to prevent any court in
Malaysia recognizing any judgment as conclusive of any matter of law or fact decided therein if that judgment would have been so recognized before the coming into force of this Act.
Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments 13
Power to make judgments unenforceable in Malaysia if no reciprocity
Except so far as the Yang di-Pertuan Agong may by order under this section otherwise direct, no proceedings shall be entertained in any court in Malaysia for the recovery of any sum alleged to be payable under a judgment given in a court of a reciprocating country to which this section applies.
Issue of certificates of judgments obtained in Malaysia
Where a judgment under which a sum of money is payable, 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, has been entered in the
High Court against any person and the judgment creditor is desirous of enforcing the judgment in a reciprocating country to which Part
II applies, the court shall, on an application made by the judgment creditor and on payment of such fee as may be prescribed issue to the judgment creditor a certified copy of the judgment, together with a certificate containing such particulars with respect to the action, including the causes of action, and the rate of interest, if any, payable on the sum payable under the judgment, as may be prescribed:
Provided that, where execution of a judgment is stayed for any period pending an appeal or for any other reason, an application shall not be made under this section with respect to the judgment until the expiration of that period.
Rules of court
making provision with respect to the giving of security for costs by persons applying for the registration of judgments;
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prescribing the matters to be proved on an application for the registration of a judgment and for regulating the mode of proving those matters;
providing for the service on the judgment debtor of notice of the registration of a judgment;
making provision with respect to the fixing of the period within which an application may be made to have the registration of the judgment set aside and with respect to the extension of the period so fixed;
prescribing the method by which any question arising under this Act whether a judgment can be enforced by execution in the country of the original court, or what interest is payable under a judgment under the law of the original court, is to be determined; and
Rules of court made for the purposes of Part II shall be expressed to have, and shall have, effect subject to any such provisions contained in orders made under section 3 as are declared by the said orders to be necessary for giving effect to agreements made between the Yang di-Pertuan Agong and reciprocating countries in relation to matters with respect to which there is power to make rules of court for the purposes of Part II.
Repeal and saving
Any judgment of a superior court in a reciprocating country registered in any court in Malaysia under any written law in force in any part of Malaysia before the first day of December 1972, shall be deemed to have been registered under this Act and to be enforceable accordingly, and anything done in relation to any such judgment under any such law or under any rules of court or other provisions applicable thereto shall be as valid and effectual as if it had been done under this Act or the corresponding rules of court or other provisions applicable to this Act.
Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments 15
FIRST SCHEDULE
[Sections 2, 3 and 10]
Reciprocating country
Superior courts
United Kingdom
…
...
…
The High Court in England;
The Court of Session in
Scotland;
The High Court in Northern
Ireland;
The Court of Chancery of the
County Palatine of Lancaster;
The Court of Chancery of the
County Palatine of Durham.
Hong Kong
…
…
…
The High Court.
Special Administrative
Region of the
People’s Republic of China
Singapore
…
…
…
The High Court.
New Zealand
…
…
…
The High Court.
Republic of Sri Lanka
…
...
The High Court.
(Ceylon)
The District Courts.
India
…
…
…
...
…
The High Court.
(excluding State of Jammu and
Kashmir, State of
Manipur, Tribal areas of State of
Assam, Scheduled areas of the States of Madras and
Andhra)
Brunei Darussalam
…
…
...
The High Court
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SECOND SCHEDULE
[Subsection 12(1)]
REPEAL
F.M.S. Enactment No. 19 of 1935
...
Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement)
Enactment 1935
Johore Enactment No. 11 of 1936
...
Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement)
Enactment 1936
Kedah Enactment No. 7 of 1355
...
Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement)
Enactment 1355
F. of M. No. 53 of 1949
...
...
Reciprocal Enforcement of
Judgments Ordinance 1949
Sarawak Ordinance No. 2 of 1961
...
Sarawak Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments (Superior Courts)
Ordinance 1961
Sabah Ordinance No. 8 of 1959
...
Foreign Judgments (Reciprocal
Enforcement) Ordinance 1959
Reciprocal Enforcement of Judgments 17
Act 99
LIST OF AMENDMENTS
Amending law
Short title
In force from
P.U. (A) 297/1972
Reciprocal Enforcement of 01-12-1972
Judgments (Extension) Order 1972
P.U. (A) 73/1994
Reciprocal Enforcement of 27-06-1993
Judgments (Application of
Section 9) Order 1994
P.U. (A) 122/2000
Reciprocal Enforcement of 31-03-2000
Judgments (Extension of
Part II
Reciprocal Enforcement of 23-01-2004
Judgments (Extension of
Part II
Section
Amending authority
In force from
Long title
P.U. (A) 297/1972 01-12-1972 1
P.U. (A) 297/1972 01-12-1972 2
P.U. (A) 297/1972 01-12-1972 3
P.U. (A) 297/1972 01-12-1972 4
P.U. (A) 297/1972 01-12-1972 5
P.U. (A) 297/1972 01-12-1972 7
P.U. (A) 297/1972 01-12-1972 8
P.U. (A) 297/1972 01-12-1972 9
P.U. (A) 297/1972 01-12-1972 10
P.U. (A) 297/1972 01-12-1972 12
First Schedule
P.U. (A) 73/1994 27-06-1993
P.U. (A) 122/2000 31-03-2000
P.U. (A) 34/2004 23-01-2004
Second Schedule
KUALA LUMPUR