Jurisdiction and effect of judgments.
177.—(1) Paragraph (d) of section 1(1) of the Administration of Justice Act 1956 as applied in Bermuda by the Admiralty Jurisdiction (Bermuda) Order 1974(1) shall be construed as extending to any claim in respect of a liability falling on the Fund under this Chapter.
(2) Where in accordance with rules of court made for the purposes of this subsection the Fund has been given notice of proceedings brought against an owner or guarantor in respect of liability under section 153, any judgment given in the proceedings shall, after it has become final and enforceable, become binding upon the Fund in the sense that the facts and evidence in the judgment may not be disputed by the Fund even if the Fund has not intervened in the proceedings.
(3) Where a person incurs a liability under the law of a Fund Convention country corresponding to Chapter III of this Part for damage which is partly in the territory of Bermuda, subsection (2) above shall, for the purpose of proceedings under this Chapter, apply with any necessary modifications to a judgment in proceedings under the law of the said country.
(4) Subject to subsection (5) below, the Judgments (Reciprocal Enforcement) Act 1958(2) shall apply, whether or not it would so apply apart from this subsection, to any judgment given by a court in a Fund Convention country to enforce a claim in respect of liability incurred under any provision corresponding to section 175; and in its application to such a judgment the said Act shall have effect with the omission of subsections (2) and (3) of section 4.
(5) No steps shall be taken to enforce such a judgment unless and until the court in which it is registered under the Act of 1958 gives leave to enforce it; and—
(a)that leave shall not be given unless and until the Fund notifies the court either that the amount of the claim is not to be reduced under paragraph 4 of Article 4 of the Fund Convention (as set out in Part I of Schedule 5 to this Act) or that it is to be reduced to a specified amount; and
(b)in the latter case, the judgment shall be enforceable only for the reduced amount.
S.I. 1974/2148: by virtue of section 17(2) of the Interpretation Act 1978 (1978 c. 30) S.I. 1974/2148 has effect as if made under section 150(2) and (3) of the Supreme Court Act 1981 (1981 c. 54).
Laws of Bermuda, No. 103 of 1958.