The Role of Reciprocity in the Enforcement of Foreign Judgments: A Comparative/Correlational Study in the Iranian and the US Law

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

1 University of Tehran- Associate Professor

2 Harvard Law School- Cambridge MA, USA

Abstract

Iran and the U.S. are among the not-so-many countries in the world which still assign some role to reciprocity in their respective laws of recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. The doubts about what this role exactly is in each case and how political tensions between the two countries has affected, or might affect, the way each of them applies its rule of reciprocity to the judgments rendered by the other’s courts specifically makes a detailed analysis of these two legal systems and their interaction, what this article attempts, worthwhile. Sketching a basic view of reciprocity as a concept and its current global status, the first chapter provides an introduction to the topic. The next two chapters explore the laws of the U.S. and Iran, respectively, on reciprocity, addressing their approaches to a number of practical issues ensuing from their commitment to this rule. The fourth chapter examines each country’ application of its own version of the rule to its specific relation with the other. Toward this end, it both studies the actual decisions of Iranian and the U.S. courts that involved this matter and contemplates other, possible scenarios in deciding the reciprocity questions in light of the interpretive possibilities that the two legal systems open up.

Keywords

Main Subjects


فهرست منابع
الف) منابع فارسی
کتاب
1.  الماسی، نجادعلی، حقوق بین الملل خصوصی، تهران: میزان، 1385.
 
مقاله
2.  پورنوری، منصور، شناسایی و اجرای احکام دادگاه­های خارجی در ایران،مجله کانون وکلا، 1383، شماره 186-187، صص 78-91.
3.  تقوائی، ابراهیم ، اجرای احکام خارجی در ایران، حقوق مردم، 1353، شماره 35-36، صص 36-38.
 
قوانین و مقررات
4. قانون مدنی 1314
5. قانون مربوط به عهدنامه مودت و روابط اقتصادی و حقوق کنسولی بین ایران و دولت متحده آمریکا  1334
6. قانون اجرای احکام مدنی 1356
 
آرای دادگاهها
7. رأی شماره 880997120101341 مورخ 1388/10/23 صادره از شعبه 11 دادگاه تجدید نظر استان فارس. نقل از: قاسمی، محمد رضا. «شناسایی و اجرای احکام مدنی در رویه قضایی ایران و سوئیس»، رساله دکترا، کیش: پردیس کیش دانشگاه تهران، 1396، ص 207.
 
 
رساله
8.  قاسمی، محمد رضا . «شناسایی و اجرای احکام مدنی در رویه قضایی ایران و سوئیس»، رساله دکترا، کیش: پردیس کیش دانشگاه تهران، 1396.
 
ب) منابع لاتین
Books
9. Audit, B., Droit International Privé, 3e éd., Econimica, 2000.
10. Decaux, Emmanuel, “Reciprocité”, Répertoire de droit international, Dalloz, 1998.
11. Dicey, A. V., John H.C. Morris & Lord Collins of Mapesbury, The Conflict of Laws, 15th Ed., London: Sweet & Maxwell, 2012.
12. Dutta, Anatol, “Reciprocity”, in Encyclopedia of Private International Law, 1467.
 
Articles
13. Carswell, R.D., “The Doctrine of Vested Rights in Private International Law”, The Int’l & Comparative Law Quarterly 8(2) (1959).
14. Coyle, John F., “The Treaty of Friendship, Commerce and Navigation in the Modern Era”, Colum. J. Transnat'l L. 51 (2013).
15. Coyle, John F., “Rethinking Judgements Reciprocity”, N.C. L. Rev.  92 (2014).
16. Epstein, Marc P., “Comity Concerns Are No Joke: Recognition of Foreign Judgments Under Dormant Foreign Affairs Preemption”, Fordham L. Rev. 82 (2014).
17. Friendly, Henry J., “In Praise of Erie-And of the New Federal Common Law”, N.Y.U. L. Rev. 39 (1964).
18. Gaudemet-Tallon, Hélène.” La reconnaissance des jugements étrangers portant sur une somme d'argent, en matière civile et commerciale”, in: Revue internationale de droit comparé 38(2) (1986)
19. Goldsmith, Jack, “Statutory Foreign Affairs Preemption”, SUP. CT. REV. (2000).
20. Hoffman, Jerome A., “Recognition by Courts in the Eleventh Circuit of Judgments Rendered by Courts of Other Countries”, Colum. L. Rev. 29 (1998).
21. Juenger, Friedrich K., “The Recognition of Money Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters”, American Journal of Comparative Law 36 (1988).
22. Keohane, Robert E., “Reciprocity in International Relations”, International Organization 40(1) (1986)1.
23.  Kotuby, Charles T. Jr, “General Principles of Law, International Due Process, and the Modern Role of Private International Law”, Duke Journal of Comparative and International Law 23.
24. Larson, Deborah W., “The Psychology of Reciprocity in International Relations”, Negotiation Journal 4 (1988).
25. Lenhoff, Arthur, “Reciprocity: The Legal Aspect of a Perennial Idea” , Nw. U. L. Rev. 49 (1954-1955).
26. Luthin, Melinda, “U.S. Enforcement of Foreign Money Judgments and the Need for Reform”, U. C. Davis J. Int'l L. & Pol'y 14 (2007).
27. Nadelmann, Kurt H., "Non-Recognition of American Money Judgments Abroad and What to Do About It", Iowa L. Rev. 42 (1957).
28. Paris, Francesco & Nita Ghei, “The Role of Reciprocity in International Law”, Cornell International Law Journal 36(1) (2003).
29. Paul, Joel R., “Comity in International Law”, Harv. Int’l L.J. 32(1) (1991).
30. Redpath, Elizabeth, “Between Judgment and Law: Full Faith and Credit, Public Policy, and State Records”, Emory L.J 62 (3) (2013).
31. Restrepo, Daniel A., “Individual-Based, Cross-Border Litigation: A National Security Practitioner’s Perspective”, U. PA. J. Int’l L. 34 (2013).
32. Robinson, Darren J., “U.S. Enforcement of Foreign Judgments, Libel Tourism, and the SPEECH Act: Protecting Speech or Discouraging Foreign Legal Cooperation”, Transnational Law and Contemporary Problems 21 (2013).
33. Smit Hans, “International Res Judicata and Collateral Estoppel in the United States”, UCLA L. Rev. 9 (1962).
34. Southard, William G., “The Reciprocity Rule and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments”, Colum. J. Transnat'l L. 16 (1977).
35. Stevens, Susan L, “Commanding International Judicial Respect: Reciprocity and the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments”, Hastings Int'l & Comp. L. Rev. 26 (2002).
36. Weston, Christina, “The Enforcement Loophole: Judgment-Recognition Defenses as a Loophole to Corporate Accountability for Conduct Abroad”, Emory Int'l L. Rev. 25 (2011).
37. Woodward, David L.,” Reciprocal Recognition and Enforcement of Civil Judgments in the United States, the United Kingdom and the European Economic Community”, N.C. J. Int'l L. & Com. Reg 8 (2016).
38. Zadeck, Donald J., “Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Personam: Reciprocity”, La. L. Rev. 10 (1949).
39. Zeynalova, Yuliya, “The Law on Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments: Is It Broken and How Do We Fix It?”, Berkeley J. Int'l Law 31 (2013).
 
Case Law
40. Hilton v. Guyot, 159 U.S. 113 (1895).
41. Johnston v. Comp. Generale Transatlantique, 152 N.E. 121 (NY 1926).
42. Erie Railroad Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64 (1938)
43. Cooley v. Weinberger, 518 F.2d 1151 (10th Cir. 1975).
44. Vagenas v. Continental Gin Co., 988 F.2d 104 (11th Cir. 1993)
45. Bank Melli Iran v. Pahlavi  58 F.3d 1406 (9th Cir. 1995)
46. Choi v. Kim, 50 F.3d 244, 248 (3d Cir. 1995).
47. Society of Lloyd’s v. Ashenden 233 F.3d (7th Cir. 2000).
48. Chevron Corp. v. Donziger, 768 F. Supp. 2d 581, 594 (Dist. Court, SD New York, 2011).
 
Electronic Resources
49. International Comparative Legal Guides, Enforcement of Foreign Judgments 2018 (USA), available at: https://iclg.com/practice-areas/enforcement-of-foreign-judgments-laws-and-regulations/usa, § 2.4, (last visited on 2/14/2019).
50. Uniform Law Commission, Why Your  State Should Adopt The Uniform Foreign-Country Money Judgments Recognition Act (2005), available at https://my.uniformlaws.org/committees/community-home/librarydocuments?communitykey=ae280c30-094a-4d8f-b722-8dcd614a8f3e&tab=librarydocuments (last visited on 1/15/2019).
51. Uniform Law Commission, available at https://my.uniformlaws.org/committees/community-home?CommunityKey=ae280c30-094a-4d8f-b722-8dcd614a8f3e, (last visited on 1/15/2019).
 
Statutes, Treaties and Model Codes
52.Public Law 111–223—AUG. 10, 2010, ‘§ 4102 (a)(1)(A), available at: https://www.congress.gov/111/plaws/publ223/PLAW-111publ223.pdf, (last visited on 1/15/2019).
53. Nations Unis, Recueil de traités, Traites et accords internationaux enregistrés ou classés et inscrits au répertoire au Secrétariat de l'Organisation des Nations Unis, vol. 284.
54. American Law Institute, The Foreign Judgment Recognition and Enforcement, Official Text [i] (17).
55. American Law Institute, The Foreign Judgment Recognition and Enforcement, Council