N.C. Gen. Stat. § 1C-1851
Definitions
Redline — April 1, 2022 → current.View current text →
Current — June 1, 2022
As of April 1, 2022
The following definitions apply in this Article:
The following definitions apply in this Article:
(1) Foreign country. — A government other than: The United States;
(1) Foreign country. — A government other than: The United States;
(2) A state, district, commonwealth, territory, or insular possession of the United States; or
(2) A state, district, commonwealth, territory, or insular possession of the United States; or
(3) Any other government with regard to which the decision in this State as to whether to recognize a judgment of that government’s courts is initially subject to determination under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the United States Constitution. The defined terms “foreign state” and “foreign judgment” in the 1962 Act have been changed to “foreign country” and “foreign-country judgment” in order to make it clear that the Act does not apply to recognition of sister-state judgments. Some courts have noted that the “foreign state” and “foreign judgment” definitions of the 1962 Act have caused confusion as to whether the Act should apply to sister-state judgments because “foreign state” and “foreign judgment” are terms of art generally used in connection with recognition and enforcement of sister-state judgments. See, e.g., Eagle Leasing v. Amandus, 476 N.W.2d 35 (S.Ct. Iowa 1991) (reversing lower court’s application of UFMJRA to a sister-state judgment, but noting lower court’s confusion was understandable as “foreign judgment” is term of art normally applied to sister-state judgments). See also, Uniform Enforcement of Foreign Judgments Act § 1 (defining “foreign judgment” as the judgment of a sister state or federal court).
(3) Any other government with regard to which the decision in this State as to whether to recognize a judgment of that government’s courts is initially subject to determination under the Full Faith and Credit Clause of the United States Constitution.
(4) The definition of “foreign-country judgment” in this Act differs significantly from the 1962 Act’s definition of “foreign judgment.” The 1962 Act’s definition served in large part as a scope provision for the Act. The part of the definition defining the scope of the Act has been moved to section 3, which is the scope section.
(5) The definition of “foreign-country judgment” in this Act refers to “a judgment” of “a court” of the foreign country. The foreign-country judgment need not take a particular form — any order or decree that meets the requirements of this section and comes within the scope of the Act under Section 3 is subject to the Act. Similarly, any competent government tribunal that issues such a “judgment” comes within the term “court” for purposes of this Act. The judgment, however, must be a judgment of an adjudicative body of the foreign country, and not the result of an alternative dispute mechanism chosen by the parties. Thus, foreign arbitral awards and agreements to arbitrate are not covered by this Act. They are governed instead by federal law, Chapter 2 of the U.S. Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §§ 201-208, implementing the United Nations Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards and Chapter 3 of the U.S. Arbitration Act, 9 U.S.C. §§ 301-307, implementing the Inter-American Convention on International Commercial Arbitration. A judgment of a foreign court confirming or setting aside an arbitral award, however, would be covered by this Act.
(6) The definition of “foreign-country judgment” does not limit foreign-country judgments to those rendered in litigation between private parties. Judgments in which a governmental entity is a party also are included, and are subject to this Act if they meet the requirements of this section and are within the scope of the Act under Section 3.
(4) Foreign-country judgment. — A judgment of a court of a foreign country.
Official source: North Carolina General Assembly. Reproduced from public-domain North Carolina statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.