Ron Brand on “The Hague Judgments Convention in the United States”

In an article available here and forthcoming in the University of Pittsburgh Law Review, Professor Ronald A. Brand discusses the purposeful structure of the Hague Judgments Convention and how that structure can aid the implementation and operation of the Convention in countries with existing liberal and non-discriminatory approaches to judgments recognition—like the United States. In sum, the Convention is built on a list of “jurisdictional filters” in Article 5(1) and grounds for non-recognition in Article 7; if the former is satisfied, the judgment may circulate under the Convention, subject only to the grounds for non-recognition found in the latter. However, and importantly, Article 15 allows the recognition or enforcement of judgments under national law. For countries like the United States, with very liberal existing law on the recognition of foreign judgments, Article 15 may in fact provide a more efficient, effective, and economical approach, even under the Convention. This article addresses this concept.