Jurisdiction of Courts and Enforcement of Judgments (European Communities) Act, 1988

Enforcement of Community judgments (other than maintenance orders).

6.—(1) Subject to section 8 (4) of this Act and to the restriction on enforcement contained in Article 39—

(a) a judgment, other than a maintenance order, in respect of which an enforcement order has been made, shall, to the extent to which the enforcement of the judgment is authorised by the enforcement order, be of the same force and effect, and

(b) for or as respects the enforcement of the judgment, the High Court shall have the same powers, and proceedings may be taken,

as if the judgment was a judgment of the High Court.

(2) (a) The Master of the High Court may, on application to him in that behalf by the maintenance creditor, by order declare that sums which were payable under an enforceable maintenance order, but were not paid, before the date of the making of the relevant enforcement order shall be regarded as being payable under a judgment referred to in subsection (1) of this section.

(b) The Master of the High Court shall not make a declaration under paragraph (a) of this subsection unless he considers that by so doing the enforceable maintenance order concerned would be more effectively enforced as respects the sums concerned.

(c) Whenever the Master of the High Court makes a declaration under paragraph (a) of this subsection, the sums to which it relates shall be deemed, for the purposes of this Act, to be payable under a judgment referred to in the said subsection (1) and not otherwise.

(3) In this section “judgment” includes an instrument or settlement referred to in Title IV of the 1968 Convention.