1992 Legislative Session: 1st Session, 35th Parliament
FIRST READING
The following electronic version is for informational purposes only.
The printed version remains the official version.
ATTORNEY GENERAL.
Contents
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Judgment creditor's other rights not affected by registration |
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HER MAJESTY, by and with the advice and consent of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of British Columbia, enacts as follows:
1 In this Act
"Canadian judgment" means
(a) a judgment or order made in a civil proceeding by a court of a province or territory of Canada, other than British Columbia,
(b) an order that is made in the exercise of a judicial function by a tribunal of a province or territory of Canada, other than British Columbia, and that is enforceable as a judgment of the superior court of unlimited trial jurisdiction of the province or territory where the order was made, and
(c) an order that is made under section 725 or 726 of the Criminal Code (Canada) by a court of a province or territory of Canada, other than British Columbia, and that is entered as a judgment in the superior court of unlimited trial jurisdiction of the province or territory where the order was made;
"judgment creditor" means a person entitled to enforce a Canadian judgment;
"judgment debtor" means a person liable under a Canadian judgment;
"registered Canadian judgment" means a Canadian judgment that is registered under this Act;
"Supreme Court" means the Supreme Court of British Columbia.
2 (1) Subject to section 5, a Canadian judgment for the payment of money may be registered under this Act for the purpose of enforcing payment of the money unless the judgment is
(a) interim or provisional,
(b) for the payment of less than the amount by which the jurisdiction of the Provincial Court is limited under the Small Claims Act,
(c) for maintenance or support, including an order enforceable under Part 4.1 of the Family Relations Act, or
(d) for the payment of money as a penalty or fine for committing an offence.
(2) A Canadian judgment that contains provisions for the payment of money and also contains other provisions may be registered under this Act, but only in respect of the provisions for the payment of money.
3 A Canadian judgment is registered under this Act by paying the fee prescribed under the Court Rules Act and by filing in a registry of the Supreme Court
(a) a copy of the judgment certified as true by a judge, registrar, clerk or other proper officer of the court or tribunal that made the judgment, and
(b) the additional information or material prescribed under the Court Rules Act.
4 Subject to sections 5 and 6, a registered Canadian judgment may be enforced in British Columbia as if it were a judgment of, and entered in, the Supreme Court.
5 No Canadian judgment may be registered or enforced under this Act
(a) after the time for enforcement has expired in the province or territory where the judgment was made, or
(b) later than 10 years after the date the judgment became enforceable in the province or territory where it was made.
6 (1) The Supreme Court may make an order staying or limiting the enforcement of a registered Canadian judgment, subject to any terms and for any period the court considers appropriate in the circumstances, if
(a) such an order could be made in respect of a judgment of the Supreme Court under any enactment of British Columbia relating to creditors' remedies and the enforcement of judgments,
(b) the judgment debtor has brought or intends to bring, in the province or territory where the judgment was made, a proceeding to set aside, vary or obtain other relief in respect of the judgment,
(c) an order staying or limiting enforcement is in effect in the province or territory where the judgment was made, or
(d) the judgment is contrary to public policy in British Columbia.
(2) The Supreme Court must not make an order staying or limiting the enforcement of a registered Canadian judgment on the grounds that
(a) the judge, court or tribunal that made the judgment lacked, under principles of private international law or under the domestic law of the province or territory where the judgment was made, jurisdiction over
(i) the subject matter of the proceeding that led to the judgment, or
(ii) the judgment debtor,
(b) the Supreme Court would have come to a different decision on a finding of fact or law or on an exercise of discretion from the decision of the judge, court or tribunal that made the judgment, or
(c) a defect existed in the process or proceeding leading to the judgment.
7 A person against whom enforcement proceedings are brought in British Columbia on a judgment or order that has been registered under this Act may, in a court of competent jurisdiction, sue for and recover compensation for reasonably foreseeable loss or damage suffered as a result of those proceedings if the person who brought them knew, or ought to have known,
(a) that the judgment or order did not qualify for registration under this Act, or
(b) of a fact or circumstances that otherwise prohibited the enforcement of the judgment or order.
8 (1) Interest is payable on a registered Canadian judgment as if it were a judgment of the Supreme Court.
(2) For the purpose of calculating interest payable under subsection (1), the amount owing on the registered Canadian judgment is the total of
(a) the amount owing on that judgment on the date it is registered under this Act, and
(b) interest that has accrued to that date under the laws applicable to the calculation of interest on that judgment in the province or territory where it was made.
9 A judgment creditor is entitled to recover, as if payable under the registered Canadian judgment, all costs, charges and disbursements
(a) reasonably incurred in the registration of a Canadian judgment under this Act, and
(b) assessed or allowed by a registrar of the Supreme Court.
10 Neither registering a Canadian judgment nor taking other proceedings under this Act affects a judgment creditor's right
(a) to bring an action on the Canadian judgment or on the original cause of action, or
(b) to register and enforce the Canadian judgment under Part 2 of the Court Order Enforcement Act.
11 This Act applies
(a) to a Canadian judgment made in a proceeding commenced after this Act comes into force, and
(b) to a Canadian judgment made in a proceeding commenced before this Act comes into force if the judgment debtor took part in the proceeding.
12 Section 31 (1) of the Court Order Enforcement Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 75, is repealed and the following substituted:
(1) Where a judgment has been given in a court in a reciprocating state, the judgment creditor may apply to have the judgment registered in the Supreme Court unless
(a) the time for enforcement has expired in the reciprocating state, or
(b) 10 years have expired after the date the judgment became enforceable in the reciprocating state.
(1.1) On application under subsection (1), the Supreme Court may order that the judgment be registered.
13 Section 1 (2) of the Court Rules Act, S.B.C. 1989, c. 22, is amended by striking out "and" at the end of paragraph (e), by adding "and" at the end of paragraph (f) and by adding the following:
(g) all matters arising under the Enforcement of Canadian Judgments Act, including cancellation of the registration of a judgment.
14 Section 1 of the Limitation Act, R.S.B.C. 1979, c. 236, is amended by repealing the definition of "judgment" and substituting the following:
"extraprovincial judgment" means a judgment, order or award other than a local judgment;
"judgment" means an extraprovincial judgment or a local judgment;
"local judgment" means a judgment, order or award of
(a) the Supreme Court of Canada relating to an appeal from a British Columbia court,
(b) the British Columbia Court of Appeal,
(c) the Supreme Court of British Columbia,
(d) the Provincial Court of British Columbia, and
(e) an arbitration under the Commercial Arbitration Act,
and includes an arbitral award to which the Foreign Arbitral Awards Act or the International Commercial Arbitration Act applies; .
15 Section 3 is amended
(a) in subsections (2) (f) and (3) (c) by striking out "judgment" and substituting "local judgment", and
(b) by adding the following:
(3.1) A person shall not bring an action on an extraprovincial judgment for the payment of money or the return of personal property
(a) after the time for enforcement has expired in the jurisdiction where that judgment was made, or
(b) later than 10 years after the judgment became enforceable in the jurisdiction where the judgment was made.
16 This Act comes into force by regulation of the Lieutenant Governor in Council.
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