Conflict of laws

An appellant sought permission to withdraw the concession made by counsel on its behalf at trial that a foreign judgment “tainted by fraud” might not be recognised by an English court. The Court of Appeal held that it was established law that there was a formidable hurdle to be overcome before the court could conclude that it was in the interests of justice and the overriding objective to allow withdrawal of a concession on appeal. The exception that an English court would not recognise and give effect to a foreign judgment which had been obtained by fraud, was a carefully delimited exception, and was not to be given expansive application. In order for the exception to recognition to apply it was necessary to establish that the fraud in question had been operative in obtaining the foreign judgment and order in issue, in the sense that without such fraud having been practised the order would not have been made, or there was a real possibility that it would