Completing a long-awaited puzzle in the landscape of cross-border recognition and enforcement of judgments: An overview of the HCCH 2019 Judgments Convention (Ning Zhao)

At its Twenty-Second Session on 2 July 2019, the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) adopted the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters (Judgments Convention, or Convention), heralding a "game changer" for international dispute resolution - a global framework designed to allow for the circulation of judgments in civil and commercial matters. This paper provides an overview of the Judgments Convention, including its history, key features and operation, to demonstrate how the recognition and enforcement (R&E) mechanism established thereunder could effectively circulate foreign judgments and the potential for wide-scale acceptance of the Convention. This paper expands upon two scope-related issues that were considered controversial at the Diplomatic Session to reveal how the Convention attempts to enhance its practicality and usefulness. This paper also briefly touches upon the Jurisdiction Project resumed under the auspices of the HCCH.