Case information

Private international law — International public order — Recognition and enforcement of judgment rendered abroad — Waiver clause — Application for homologation — As regards recognition and enforcement of foreign judgment, nature of analysis of “outcome of a foreign decision” that Quebec courts must carry out in accordance with art. 3155 C.C.Q. — Whether “public order as understood in international relations” within meaning of art. 3155(5) C.C.Q. refers to international public order or to Quebec public order, and burden of proof of party that raises it — Civil Code of Québec, art. 3155.

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TCA Global applied for homologation, in Quebec, of a foreign judgment rendered by a Florida court in order to obtain the repayment of a loan. Mr. Apelian challenged that application on the ground that the clauses of the contract, on which the Florida court had relied, were contrary to Quebec public order and could not be set up against him.

The trial judge dismissed the application for homologation and ordered Mr. Apelian to repay the loan. Relying on art. 3155(5) of the Civil Code of Québec, she found that the judgment could not be recognized under Quebec law, because it was manifestly inconsistent with public order. TCA Global challenged that decision on appeal and argued that the trial judge should have limited herself to analyzing the decision and not sought to retry the case. The Court of Appeal dismissed the appeal and noted that the contractual clauses of the contract contravened the basic principles of the Quebec legal system. The trial judge had not committed an error of law.