PART III

Lugano Convention

Interpretation ( Part III ).

7. —(1) In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires—

“Contracting State” means a state in respect of which the Lugano Convention has entered into force or taken effect in accordance with Article 61 or 62;

“the Lugano Convention” means the Convention on jurisdiction and the enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters signed at Lugano on the 16th day of September, 1988, and includes Protocol 1;

“Protocol 1” means the Protocol on certain questions of jurisdiction, procedure and enforcement signed at Lugano on the 16th day of September, 1988.

(2) A document purporting to be a copy of a judgment given by a court of a Contracting State shall, for the purposes of this Act, be regarded as being duly authenticated if it purports—

(a) to bear the seal of that court, or

(b) to be certified by a person in his capacity as a judge or officer of that court to be a true copy of a judgment given by that court.

(3) In this Part, unless the context otherwise requires, a reference to a numbered Article is a reference to the Article so numbered of the Lugano Convention and a reference to a subdivision of a numbered Article shall be construed accordingly.

(4) (a) The Minister for Foreign Affairs may by order declare—

(i) that any state specified in the order is a Contracting State, or

(ii) that a denunciation (the text of which shall be set out in the order) has been made pursuant to Article 64, a declaration (the text of which shall be set out in the order) has been made pursuant to Article Ia, Ib or IV of Protocol 1 or a communication (the text of which shall be set out in the order) has been made pursuant to Article 63 or Article VI of Protocol 1.

(b) An order that is in force under this subsection shall be evidence—

(i) as respects any declaration under paragraph (a) (i) therein, that any state to which the declaration relates is a Contracting State, and

(ii) as respects any declaration under paragraph (a) (ii) therein, that the denunciation pursuant to Article 64, the declaration pursuant to Article Ia, Ib or IV of Protocol 1 or, as the case may be, the communication pursuant to Article 63 or Article VI of Protocol 1, to which the first mentioned declaration relates was made and of its contents.

(c) The Minister for Foreign Affairs may by order amend or revoke an order under this subsection including an order under this paragraph.

Application ( Part III ).

8. —Subject to Article 54B, this Part applies to any judgment or order (by whatever name called) that is a judgment for the purposes of the Lugano Convention.

Lugano Convention to have force of law.

9. —(1) The Lugano Convention shall have the force of law in the State and judicial notice shall be taken of it.

(2) For convenience of reference, the authentic text in the English language of the Lugano Convention referred to in Article 68 thereof and the text in that language of Protocol 1 are set out in the Sixth and Seventh Schedules to this Act.

Interpretation of Lugano Convention.

10. —(1) Judicial notice shall be taken of relevant decisions delivered by courts of other Contracting States concerning provisions of the Lugano Convention and a court shall, when applying and interpreting its provisions, pay due account to the principles laid down by those decisions.

(2) Judicial notice shall be taken of the report by Mr. P. Jenard and Mr. G. Möller on the Lugano Convention¹ and that report may be considered by any court when interpreting any of the provisions of the Convention and shall be given such weight as is appropriate in the circumstances.

Application of certain provisions of Principal Act.

11. —(1) Sections 5 to 14 (as amended by section 5 of this Act) of the Principal Act shall apply in relation to the application of the Lugano Convention in the State pursuant to section 9 of this Act as they apply in relation to the application pursuant to that Act of the Conventions (within the meaning of the Principal Act) with the following modifications and with any other necessary modifications:

(a) references to a judgment, maintenance creditor, maintenance debtor, maintenance order, enforcement order and Contracting State shall be construed as references to a judgment, maintenance creditor, maintenance debtor, maintenance order, enforcement order and Contracting State within the meaning of this Part, and

(b) references to numbered Articles of the 1968 Convention (within the meaning of the Principal Act) shall be construed as references to the corresponding Articles of the Lugano Convention.

(2) In this section, unless the context otherwise requires—

“enforcement order” means—

(a) an order made by the Master of the High Court under section 5 of the Principal Act as applied by this section for the recognition or enforcement of the whole or part of a judgment, or

(b) an order of the High Court for the recognition or enforcement of the whole or part of an instrument or settlement referred to in Title IV of the Lugano Convention,

and includes an enforcement order made or varied on appeal from a decision of the Master of the High Court or a decision of the High Court;

“judgment”, except in section 8 of this Act, means a judgment or order to which, by virtue of the said section 8 , this Part applies;

“maintenance creditor” means, in relation to a maintenance order, the person entitled to the payments for which the order provides;

“maintenance debtor” means, in relation to a maintenance order, the person liable to make payments under the order;

“maintenance order” means a judgment that is a judgment relating to maintenance (within the meaning of the Lugano Convention) in so far, but only in so far, as it provides for the making of periodic payments.

OJ No. C 189 of 28.7.1990, p.57.