Australian High Court Rules On Enforcing Foreign Judgments Against A Foreign State

A recent High Court of Australia decision considers the unique circumstances in which a foreign State is entitled to relief from a foreign judgment made against it. A foreign judgment made against a State is capable of being registered and enforced in Australia, but before an applicant is entitled to get its hands on State assets the Court will scrutinise how the State uses those assets to determine whether relief can be granted on the basis that they are immune from execution.

On 2 December 2015 the High Court of Australia dismissed an appeal by Firebird Global Master Fund II Ltd (Firebird).  Firebird unsuccessfully argued that a foreign judgment against the Republic of Nauru (Nauru) should not have been set aside on the basis of State immunity.