(a) If, after an obligation is expressed or a loss is incurred in a foreign money, the country issuing or adopting that money substitutes a new money in place of that money, the obligation or the loss is treated as if expressed or incurred in the new money at the rate of conversion the issuing country establishes for the payment of like obligations or losses denominated in the former money.
12-642.Effect of currency revalorization.
Article XII. Judgments - Enforcement · Part 6. Foreign Judgments and Foreign-Money Claims · Not amended since adoption on record · Last verified July 20, 2026
In one sentenceHandles what happens when a foreign country replaces its currency, directing that an obligation or an already-entered judgment be converted into the new currency at the issuing country's own official conversion rate.
Full Text of 735 ILCS 5/12-642
(b) If substitution under subsection (a) occurs after a judgment or award is entered on a foreign-money claim, the court or arbitrator shall amend the judgment or award by a like conversion of the former money.
Plain-English Summary
Currencies sometimes get replaced by a new one. Subsection (a) says that when a country substitutes a new currency for the one an obligation or loss was expressed in, the obligation or loss is treated as if it had been expressed in the new currency all along, converted at whatever rate the issuing country itself sets for similar obligations.
Subsection (b) extends that same approach to a judgment or award already entered on a foreign-money claim: if the currency substitution happens after judgment, the court or arbitrator must amend the judgment by applying the same conversion to the former currency.
The rule keeps a currency substitution abroad from stranding a claim or judgment in a currency that no longer exists, by anchoring the conversion to the issuing country's own official rate rather than leaving it to case-by-case dispute.
Frequently Asked Questions
What happens if the foreign currency named in a contract or claim gets replaced?
Under subsection (a), the obligation or loss is treated as expressed in the new currency, converted at the rate the issuing country sets for similar obligations in the old currency.
Does an existing judgment get updated after a currency substitution?
Yes. Subsection (b) requires the court or arbitrator to amend a judgment or award already entered, applying the same conversion to the former currency.
Who sets the conversion rate between the old and new currency?
The country that issued or adopted the new currency; the Act adopts that country's own conversion rate for like obligations.
Does this happen automatically, or does someone need to ask a court for it?
For a pending claim, the conversion applies as a matter of law. For an already-entered judgment or award, the court or arbitrator must amend it.
Why would a country replace its own currency?
The Act doesn't say and doesn't need to; it applies whenever a substitution occurs, regardless of the issuing country's reasons.
Amendment History
(Source: P.A. 86-1291.)
Source & verification. Section text and amendment history are
reproduced verbatim from the Illinois Compiled Statutes, published by the
Illinois Compiled Statutes, Illinois General Assembly / Legislative Reference Bureau. Last verified July 20, 2026.
· Official source
Also known as: currency redenomination and a judgment Illinoisforeign currency replaced by a new currencyrevalorization amendment to judgmentold currency substituted by new currency lawsuit