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What paperwork materials are required to apply for recognition and enforcement of foreign court judgments in mainland China?

November 29, 2024

 

The applicant shall submit a written application stating the detailed information and legal basis for the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, and prepare the following three types of documents with the application: the original judgment or a certified copy of the judgment (providing the original judgment of the foreign court or its legally authenticated copy); A document proving that the judgment has taken legal effect (such as a final judgment certificate, which confirms that the judgment is a final judgment that cannot be appealed and has legal enforceability. In some cases, it may also be necessary to provide legal opinions from relevant lawyers in the country where the judgment was made); Proof of legal summons for absent judgments in foreign courts (if the judgment is made in the absence of one party, documents proving that the foreign court has lawfully and reasonably summoned the absent party must be provided). According to the Chinese Civil Procedure Law, the above-mentioned documents must be accompanied by a Chinese translation that has been translated by a formal translation agency and stamped with a seal. Meanwhile, if the foreign documents submitted by the applicant are formed outside of China, they shall go through notarization and authentication procedures, or fulfill the certification procedures stipulated in the relevant international treaties between the People's Republic of China and the host country. In judicial practice, if the relevant documents do not meet the above requirements, it may result in the application being rejected by a ruling.