Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors v Stephens

The case involved a dispute between Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and the defendant Stephens. The court was asked to determine whether a foreign judgment, rendered by a court in New Zealand, could be set aside. The matter was heard in the Federal Court of Australia. The plaintiff sought to enforce the foreign judgment in Australia, while the defendant contested its enforceability.

The central legal issue before the court was whether there was a question of principle involved in setting aside the foreign judgment. The court had to assess whether the judgment could be set aside on the basis that there was no question of principle involved. The defendant argued that the foreign judgment should not be enforced because it did not meet the requirements for setting aside a foreign judgment under Australian law.

The court held that there was no question of principle involved in setting aside the foreign judgment. The court found that the foreign judgment was final and conclusive and that the defendant had not provided any grounds for setting it aside. The court emphasised that, in order to set aside a foreign judgment, there must be a question of principle involved, such as a breach of natural justice or a violation of public policy. The court concluded that the defendant had not demonstrated any such issue.

The court dismissed the defendant's application to set aside the foreign judgment and ordered the defendant to pay the plaintiff's costs of the application. The court held that the foreign judgment was enforceable in Australia and that the plaintiff was entitled to enforce it.