Book review on Asian Principles for the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments

The March 2021 Issue of the Singapore Journal of Legal Studies published a book review by Béligh Elbalti, Associate Professor at the Graduate School of Law and Politics at Osaka University, on the Asian Principles for the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments.

An abstract of the book reviews reads as follows:

“On 3 September 2020, the Asian Principles for the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments (hereinafter, “Asian Principles”) adopted under the auspices of the Asian Business Law Institute was officially released, a date that may be considered a turning point in the history of legal developments in the field of recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in Asia. This is because to date, there is no single regional framework that ensures the smooth circulation of judgments between neighbouring states despite strong economic ties that bind the various Asian jurisdictions. Many of these states (such as Indonesia, Japan, the Philippines, South Korea, Thailand etc.) have not even showed eagerness to establish their own networks of bilateral cooperation to that effect (for an earlier unfruitful attempt, see Asian-African Legal Consultative Committee, Report of the Seventh Session Baghdad 1965 (1966)). This status quo might intrigue outsiders’ curiosity. Indeed, unlike Europe, Latin America, or intergovernmental organisations such as the Commonwealth of Independent States (“CIS”), the League of Arab States (“LAS”) or the Gulf Cooperation Council (“GCC”), where regional schemes on judgments recognition and enforcement have already been in place, the lack of interest displayed in some parts of Asia, at least at an official or diplomatic level, is hardly comprehensible. This is more so knowing that the field of international arbitration has a completely different picture although the need to foster economic growth and to guarantee legal certainty and predictability is indifferent to which method of dispute resolution is adopted.”

The book review may be cited as [2021] Sing JLS 26.

The Singapore Journal of Legal Studies is the flagship law journal of the Faculty of Law, National University of Singapore and one of the oldest law journals in the Commonwealth. As the first and leading legal journal in Singapore, it contains a rich store of legal literature analysing the legal, political and social development of Singapore in its progression from a developing to a First World nation. The journal continues to advance the boundaries of global and local developments in law, policy and legal practice by publishing cogent and timely articles, legislation comments and case notes on a biannual basis.

The Asian Principles for the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments is available in print and softcopy.