Assets In Western Australia Frozen Ahead Of Anticipated Foreign Judgment

The High Court of Australia (High Court) has unanimously held that the Supreme Court of Western Australia (WA Supreme Court) has the inherent power to make a freezing order over assets in Western Australia that are subject to an anticipated judgment of a foreign court which, when delivered, would be registrable under the Foreign Judgments Act 1991 (Cth) (Foreign Judgments Act).

Background

PT Bayan Resources TBK (Bayan), an Indonesian entity, entered into a joint venture agreement with BCBC Singapore Pte Ltd (BCBC), a Singaporean entity. BCBC commenced proceedings against Bayan in the High Court of Singapore earlier this year. Bayan owns shares in Kangaroo Resources Limited (KRL), an ASX-listed company based in Perth. BCBC made an ex parte application to the WA Supreme Court seeking freezing orders against KRL and Bayan in respect of Bayan's shareholdings in KRL.