Foreign currency judgments
by David Carter on 19 January 2010
Sometimes you need to enforce a judgment or order expressed in a foreign currency.
What you need to do is transfer it to the High Court, as usual, to get a writ of fieri facias (Fi Fa). Both the praecipe (the request to the court for the issuing of a writ) and the writ of Fi Fa must be endorsed with the following certificate:
"I/We certify that the rate current in London for the purchase of (state the unit of foreign currency in which the judgment is expressed) at the close of business on (state the nearest preceding date to the date of issue of the writ of fieri facias) was ( ) to the £ sterling and at this rate the sum of (state amount of the judgment debt in the foreign currency) amounts to £ ".
The schedule to the writ of Fi Fa should be amended as follows:
- Showing the amount of the judgment or order in the foreign currency at paragraph 1.
-
Inserting a new paragraph 2. as follows:
"2. Amount of the sterling equivalent as appears from the certificate endorsed on the praecipe for issue of the writ £ ". - Renumbering the remaining paragraphs accordingly.
The writ of Fi Fa will then be issued for the sterling equivalent of the judgment expressed in foreign currency as appears from the certificate. It can then be enforced by the HCEO as normal.
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Disclaimer: The statements and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Sheriffs High Court Enforcement Ltd, trading as The Sheriffs Office. Sheriffs High Court Enforcement Ltd does not take any responsibility for the views of the author. The author will not be held responsible for any comments posted by visitors to this site. Please note that this article does not constitute legal advice. The author has used his best endeavours to make this article as accurate and complete as possible, but requests that the reader be aware that the law of England and Wales frequently changes. The author strongly advises the reader to take legal advice before embarking on any enforcement action.
