International enforcement

The international enforcement of financial orders is not a common feature of everyday practice. As a result, reported cases are few. However, there are numerous conventions, regulations, statutes and statutory instruments, making this a highly complex area. With some jurisdictions there is more than one statutory route to enforcing an order; in others, none; or there may even be variations in relation to different parts of a particular state.

Consideration should be given to the impact of the exit of the UK from the EU (Brexit). 11pm (GMT) on 31 December 2020 marked the end of the Brexit transition/implementation period entered into following the UK’s withdrawal from the EU. At that time (referred to in UK law as ‘IP completion day’), key transitional arrangements came to an end and significant changes took effect across the UK’s legal regime. This has implications for practitioners considering issues of enforcement. For further guidance, see Practice Note: Family proceedings with EU connections—toolkit.

See also Practice Notes: Jurisdiction in overseas cases including cases with UK-EU connections issued after IP completion day and Jurisdiction in cases with EU connections issued before IP completion day,

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