In the United States, the recognition and enforcement of foreign-country judgments is generally governed by state law. Most states have adopted one of two Uniform Acts that provide for the recognition and enforcement of foreign money judgments subject to certain exceptions, including lack of jurisdiction, fraud, and public policy. There is also a federal statute, the SPEECH Act, that governs the recognition and enforcement of foreign defamation judgments. The United States has signed two judgments treaties, the 2005 Hague Convention on Choice of Court Agreements and the 2019 Hague Judgments Convention, but neither has yet been sent to the Senate for ratification.
A Primer on Foreign Judgments
[Updated May 17, 2026] In the United States, the recognition and enforcement of foreign-country judgments is generally governed by state law. Nevertheless, the law on foreign judgments is fairly uniform throughout the United States because most states have adopted one of two Uniform Acts. These Acts establish a presumption that final, conclusive, and enforceable foreign…
Continue ReadingTalaq Divorce Cases in the United States
Over the past several months, three state appellate courts in the United States have examined whether a “talaq” divorce obtained in another country is entitled to recognition as a matter of comity. In this post, I first survey the rules relating to the recognition of foreign divorce judgments. I then explain the concept of a…
Continue ReadingNatural Resources, Public Policy, and the New York Convention
Georgia (the country) recently argued in Enka Renewables LLC v. Georgia against the enforcement of an arbitral award that would purportedly violate U.S. public policy. Georgia relied on the U.S. public policy in favor of allowing other countries to control the natural resources within their own sovereign territories. But does the United States have such…
Continue ReadingRecognizing Foreign Judgments: Of Personal Jurisdiction, Collateral Estoppel, and Judicial Discretion
In the United States, the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments is generally governed by state law. State law is largely uniform throughout the United States because most states have adopted one of two Uniform Acts. The acts raise fascinating questions of interpretation, and Judge Margaret M. Garnett (Southern District of New York) faced several…
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