See also Part
70
PRACTICE DIRECTION – ENFORCEMENT OF
JUDGMENTS AND ORDERS
This practice direction supplements Part 70
|
Methods of enforcing money judgments – rule 70.2
|
|
| 1.1 |
A judgment creditor may enforce a judgment or order for
the payment of money by any of the following methods:
|
| | (3)
| a charging order, stop order or stop notice (see
Part 73); |
PD 3Q" name="IDAPD 3Q">|
| | (4)
| in a county court, an attachment of earnings order
(see CCR Order 27); |
|
| | (5)
| the appointment of a receiver (see Part
69). |
|
|
| Paragraph 1.1(5) amended w/e from 2 December 2002. |
1.2 |
In addition the court may make the following orders
against a judgment debtor – |
| | (1)
| an order of committal, but only if permitted by
–
|
| | (b)
| the Debtors Acts 1869 and 1878Acts |
(See RSC Order 45 rule 5 and CCR Order 28. The
practice direction on committal applications applies to an application for
committal of a judgment debtor); and |
|
|
| 1.3 |
The enforcement of a judgment or order may be affected by
– |
| | (1)
| the enactments relating to insolvency; and |
|
| | (2)
| county court administration orders. |
|

|
Transfer of county court proceedings to another county court for
enforcement – rule 70.3
|
|
| 2.1 |
If a judgment creditor is required by a rule or practice
direction to enforce a judgment or order of one county court in a different
county court, he must first make a request in writing to the court in which the
case is proceeding to transfer the proceedings to that other court. |
|
| 2.2 |
On receipt of such a request, a court officer will
transfer the proceedings to the other court unless a judge orders
otherwise. |
|
| 2.3 |
The court will give notice of the transfer to all the
parties. |
|
| 2.4 |
When the proceedings have been transferred, the parties
must take any further steps in the proceedings in the court to which they have
been transferred, unless a rule or practice direction provides
otherwise. (Part 52 and its practice direction provide to which
court or judge an appeal against the judgment or order, or an application for
permission to appeal, must be made.) |

|
Enforcement of High Court judgment or order in a county court
– rule 70.3
|
|
| 3.1 |
If a judgment creditor wishes to enforce a High Court
judgment or order in a county court, he must file the following documents in
the county court with his application notice or request for enforcement
– |
| | (1)
| a copy of the judgment or order; |
|
| | (2)
| a certificate verifying the amount due under the
judgment or order; |
|
| | (3)
| if a writ of execution has previously been issued
in the High Court to enforce the judgment or order, a copy of the relevant
enforcement officer’s return to
the writ; and |
|
| | (4)
| a copy of the order transferring the proceedings to
the county court. |
|
|
| Paragraph 3 renumbered as 3.1 with minor amendment, Paragraph 3.2 added w/e from 1 June 2004. |
3.2 |
In this paragraph and paragraph 7 – |
| | (1)
| ‘enforcement officer’
means an individual who is authorised to act as an enforcement officer under
the Courts Act 2003; and |
|
| | (2)
| ‘relevant enforcement
officer’ means –|
| | (a)
| in relation to a writ of
execution which is directed to a single enforcement officer, that
officer; |
|
| | (b)
| in relation to a writ of
execution which is directed to two or more enforcement officers, the officer to
whom the writ is allocated. |
|
|

|
Enforcement of awards of bodies other than the High Court or a
county court – rule 70.5
|
|
| 4.1 |
An application under rule 70.5 for an order to enforce an
award as if payable under a court order must be made by filing an application
notice in practice form
N322A. |
|
| 4.2 |
The application notice must state – |
| | (1)
| the name and address of the person against whom it
is sought to enforce the award; and |
|
| | (2)
| how much of the award remains unpaid. |
|
|
| 4.3 |
Rule 70.5(6) provides that a copy of the award must be
filed with the application notice. |

|
Registration of awards and decisions in the High Court for
enforcement – rule 70.5(8)
|
|
| 5.1 |
An application to the High Court under an enactment to
register a decision for enforcement must be made in writing to the head clerk
of the Action Department at the Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London WC2A
2LL. |
|
| 5.2 |
The application must – |
| | (1)
| specify the statutory provision under which the
application is made; |
|
| | (2)
| state the name and address of the person against
whom it is sought to enforce the decision; |
|
| | (3)
| if the decision requires that person to pay a sum
of money, state the amount which remains unpaid. |
|

|
Interest on judgment debts
|
|
| 6. |
If a judgment creditor is claiming interest on a judgment
debt, he must include in his application or request to issue enforcement
proceedings in relation to that judgment details of – |
| | (1)
| the amount of interest claimed and the sum on which
it is claimed; |
|
| | (2)
| the dates from and to which interest has accrued;
and |
|
| | (3)
| the rate of interest which has been applied and,
where more than one rate of interest has been applied, the relevant dates and
rates. (Interest may be claimed on High Court judgment
debts under section 17 of the Judgments Act 1838Acts. The County Courts (Interest
on Judgment Debts) Order 1991 specifies when interest may be claimed on county
court judgment debts.) |
|

|
Enforcing a judgment or order against a partnership
|
|
| 6A.1 |
A judgment or order made against a partnership may be
enforced against any property of the partnership within the
jurisdiction. |
|
| 6A.2 |
Subject to paragraph 6A.3, a judgment or order made
against a partnership may be enforced against any person who is not a limited
partner and who – |
| | (1)
| acknowledged service of the claim
form as a partner; |
|
| | (2)
| having been served as a partner
with the claim form, failed to acknowledge service of it; |
|
| | (3)
| admitted in his statement of case
that he is or was a partner at a material time; or |
|
| | (4)
| was found by the court to have
been a partner at a material time. |
|
|
| 6A.3 |
A judgment or order made against a partnership may not be
enforced against a limited partner or a member of the partnership who was
ordinarily resident outside the jurisdiction when the claim form was issued
unless that partner or member
– |
| | (1)
| acknowledged service of the claim
form as a partner; |
|
| | (2)
| was served within the
jurisdiction with the claim form as a partner; or |
|
| | (3)
| was served out of the
jurisdiction with the claim form, as a partner, with the permission of the
court given under Section IV
of Part 6. |
|
|
| 6A.4 |
A judgment creditor wishing to enforce a judgment or
order against a person in circumstances not set out in paragraphs 6A.2 or 6A.3
must apply to the court for permission to enforce the judgment or order. |

|
Payment of debt after issue of enforcement proceedings
|
|
| 7.1 |
If a judgment debt or part of it is paid – |
| | (1)
| after the judgment creditor has issued any
application or request to enforce it; but |
|
| | (2)
| before –|
| | (a)
| any writ or warrant has been executed; or
|
|
| | (b)
| in any other case, the date fixed for the
hearing of the application; |
the judgment creditor must, unless paragraph 7.2
applies, immediately notify the court in writing. |
|
|
| 7.2 |
If a judgment debt or part of it is
paid after the judgment creditor has applied to the High Court for a writ of
execution, paragraph 7.1 does not apply, and the judgment creditor must instead
immediately notify the relevant
enforcement officer in
writing. |
| Paragraph 7.2 amended w/e from 1 June 2004. |