{"id":"F1996B00737","name":"Foreign Judgments Regulations 1992","slug":"foreign-judgments-regulations-1992","collection":"legislative_instrument","jurisdiction":"commonwealth","status":"in_force","isInForce":true,"actNumber":"321 of 1992","makingDate":null,"administeringDepartment":null,"currentVersion":{"id":28909,"registerId":"commonwealth-F1996B00737-current","compilationNumber":null,"startDate":"2026-04-01","status":"InForce","reasons":null,"registeredAt":null},"sections":[{"sectionNumber":"1","sectionType":"section","heading":"Name of regulations","content":"#### 1 Name of regulations\n\n  These regulations are the Foreign Judgments Regulations 1992.","sortOrder":0},{"sectionNumber":"2","sectionType":"section","heading":"Interpretation","content":"#### 2 Interpretation\n\n  In these Regulations:\n\n> Act means the Foreign Judgments Act 1991.\n\n> Privy Council means the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, and is taken to include the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council.","sortOrder":1},{"sectionNumber":"3","sectionType":"section","heading":"Extension of Part 2 of the Act","content":"#### 3 Extension of Part 2 of the Act\n\n  Part 2 of the Act extends to each country specified in column 2 of the Schedule.","sortOrder":2},{"sectionNumber":"4","sectionType":"section","heading":"Specified superior courts","content":"#### 4 Specified superior courts\n\n  For the purposes of the Act, the courts specified in column 3 of an item in the Schedule are taken to be superior courts of the country specified in column 2 of that item.","sortOrder":3},{"sectionNumber":"5","sectionType":"section","heading":"Specified inferior courts","content":"#### 5 Specified inferior courts\n\n  (2) Part 2 of the Act extends in relation to the following inferior courts of the United Kingdom:\n    (a) County Courts (England and Wales);\n    (b) County Courts (Northern Ireland);\n    (c) Sheriff Courts (Scotland).\n  (3) Part 2 of the Act extends in relation to the following inferior courts of Canada:\n    (a) the Provincial Court of Alberta;\n    (b) the Provincial Court of British Columbia;\n    (c) the Provincial Court of Manitoba.\n  (4) Part 2 of the Act extends in relation to the following inferior courts of Switzerland:\n    (a) Bezirksgerichte;\n    (b) Erstinstanzliche Gerichte;\n    (c) Arbeitsgerichte;\n    (d) Mietgerichte.\n  (6) Part 2 of the Act extends in relation to each District Court of the Republic of Poland.","sortOrder":4}],"analysis":{"flash_summary":{"complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":true,"description":"These Regulations change the operational scope of Part 2 of the Foreign Judgments Act 1991 by specifying which countries and which courts (both particular superior courts via the Schedule and certain inferior courts by explicit lists) are treated as within Part 2 (regs 3–5). In other words, the Regulations determine the geographic and court-level boundaries of Part 2 rather than leaving those boundaries unspecified (regs 3–5)."},"complexity_factors":["Short, declarative structure with heavy reliance on an external Schedule to specify countries and courts (regs 3–4).","Cross-reference to the Foreign Judgments Act 1991 so practical effect requires reading both instruments together (reg 2 defines the Act).","Lists of specified inferior courts across multiple jurisdictions that require accurate mapping between foreign court names and the Schedule or reg 5 lists (reg 5(2)–(4), (6)).","Minimal procedural detail in the Regulations themselves — application requires consulting the Act for enforcement mechanics (regs 3–5).","Use of defined term \"Privy Council\" that clarifies historical appellate bodies but otherwise does not alter substantive coverage (reg 2)."],"plain_english_summary":"These Regulations specify which foreign countries and courts are covered by Part 2 of the Foreign Judgments Act 1991 by listing them in the Schedule and naming certain inferior courts, and they define two terms used in the Act. \n\nThey matter to anyone seeking recognition or enforcement in Australia because Part 2 now applies only to judgments from those listed courts; parties and courts must consult the Schedule to know whether the Act’s streamlined pathway is available."},"kimi_summary":{"_metrics":{"source":"grok-batch-everything"},"content_quality":"ok","complexity_score":3,"scope_assessment":{"changed":false,"description":"The regulations have not grown beyond their original purpose; they continue to perform the precise function envisaged by the enabling Act of designating the foreign countries and courts to which the reciprocal enforcement regime in Part 2 applies."},"complexity_factors":["Heavy reliance on definitions and machinery imported from the Foreign Judgments Act 1991","Dependence on an external Schedule to specify countries and superior courts","Country-by-country listing of inferior courts using non-sequential subsection numbering that implies historical amendments"],"plain_english_summary":"**The Foreign Judgments Regulations 1992** make it easier to enforce certain overseas court decisions inside Australia. \n\nThey extend Part 2 of the Foreign Judgments Act 1991 (the main law) to a list of foreign countries named in an attached Schedule. For those countries the regulations name particular courts whose decisions can be registered and enforced in Australia as if they were Australian ones. \n\nThey also name specific lower-level ('inferior') courts in the United Kingdom, Canada, Switzerland and Poland that are covered by the same enforcement rules. \n\nIn everyday terms, if someone wins a case in one of these approved foreign courts, the regulations open a faster pathway to collect money or force the loser to do (or stop doing) something in Australia. This affects anyone involved in cross-border business, international contracts or family disputes with overseas elements. It matters because it reduces uncertainty and cost compared with starting a fresh lawsuit in Australia."}},"importantCases":[],"_links":{"self":"/api/acts/foreign-judgments-regulations-1992","history":"/api/acts/foreign-judgments-regulations-1992/history","analysis":"/api/acts/foreign-judgments-regulations-1992/analysis","conflicts":"/api/acts/foreign-judgments-regulations-1992/conflicts","importantCases":"/api/acts/foreign-judgments-regulations-1992/important-cases","documents":"/api/acts/foreign-judgments-regulations-1992/documents"}}