CPC, 1908 · Part I · Jurisdiction of the Courts
Presumption as to foreign judgments
Produce a certified copy — the court presumes the foreign court was competent.
The bare Act
The Court shall presume, upon the production of any document purporting to be a certified copy of a foreign judgment, that such judgment was pronounced by a Court of competent jurisdiction, unless the contrary appears on the record; but such presumption may be displaced by proving want of jurisdiction.
How to read Section 14
A rule of evidence that makes foreign judgments easy to rely on: a certified copy is enough for the court to presume the foreign court was competent.
The presumption is not final — it can be displaced by proving the foreign court had no jurisdiction.
It supports §13: competence is presumed, so the burden shifts to the party invoking exception (a).
How the presumption works
Certified copy → presumed competent → but rebuttable
Phrase by phrase
The maxim behind it
Omnia praesumuntur rite et solemniter esse acta
“All acts are presumed to have been done rightly and regularly.”
Why it fits §14: the law assumes official acts were regularly done — so a certified foreign judgment is presumed to come from a competent court unless the contrary is shown.
Connected rules & sections
§14 supports it — competence is presumed, so the burden shifts to whoever invokes exception (a).
The judgment of a foreign Court (§2(5)).
Execution of decrees of reciprocating territories.
Presumption as to certified copies of foreign judicial records — works with §14.
The one ground expressly named to displace the presumption.
The conclusiveness in §13 that §14 helps establish.