By exploring the law and practice of recognition of foreign judgments in the EU, England and Wales and the US, this research identifies how the mechanism of the recognition of foreign judgments can be optimized in transnational litigation. It focuses on the different forms of application and the possible legal effects of recognition of foreign judgments in transnational litigation. The practice of recognition of foreign maritime judgments is also included in order to further illustrate whether there could be any peculiarities in the recognition of judgments in a specific field of law and how the recognition of foreign judgments serves to achieve the objectives and values of certain legal mechanisms in a specific field.