ENGLAND & WALES Law and Practice Contributed by: James Herring, Nathalie Allen and David Wigg, Addleshaw Goddard
• judgment in default where a defendant is properly served with a claim but fails to respond within the timeframe set out in the rules – in certain cir - cumstances, the defendant may be able to have the default judgment set aside and proceed with defending the litigation. 2.2 Enforcement of Domestic Judgments There are a number of ways to enforce a domestic judgment. Charging Order This is a court order for a charge over specific property owned by the judgment debtor (land, securities or cer - tain other assets). The charge attempts to prevent the judgment debtor from selling the property without first satisfying the charge (ie, paying the judgment debt). Obtaining the charge allows the judgment creditor to then apply to court seeking an order for the sale of the asset and, if successful, to use the proceeds to pay the judgment debt. The process of applying for an interim charging order is relatively straightforward, with a prescribed form for the application. The application is usually first made without notice to the judgment debtor and dealt with by a judge without a hearing. Following this, the appli - cant can apply for a final charging order. At that point, the judgment debtor (who may dispute the charging order) and any other third party who claims an interest in the asset will be given notice of, and may attend, the hearing of the judgment creditor’s application. Attachment of Earnings Where the judgment debtor is an individual, the party seeking enforcement can apply to court for a direction that the judgment debtor’s employer pay an amount of the judgment debtor’s salary to the judgment creditor (to be paid first to a collecting officer, who will then pass this on to the judgment creditor). Such an order cannot be obtained against a judg - ment debtor who is unemployed, self-employed, in the armed forces or a merchant seaman. A Third-Party Debt Order A third-party debt order provides for monies owed to a judgment debtor from a third party to instead be
passed to the judgment creditor. This is often obtained in respect of a credit balance in a judgment debtor’s bank account. Similar to an application for a charging order, this involves a two-stage process as part of which the judgment creditor first seeks an interim third-party debt order (without notice to the judgment debtor); following this, a hearing will take place, at which the court decides whether to make a final order. The third party can object to the order and intervene to attempt to prevent the order being made. It is not usually pos - sible to obtain a third-party debt order in respect of debts to which the debtor does not have full entitle - ment (such as a joint debt or future debt) or over which the court does not have jurisdiction (eg, a debt owed in another country). Enforcement by Taking Control of Goods The judgment creditor can apply to court to take con - trol of the judgment debtor’s goods for the purpose of selling those goods to pay the judgment debt. This involves instructing an enforcement agent to collect and sell goods (by entering the judgment debtor’s premises). Insolvency Proceedings Monies owing under a judgment are a debt and it may be possible to instigate insolvency proceedings for non-payment by applying to make an individual bank - rupt or declare a corporate entity insolvent. In relation to an individual, the process involves serv - ing a statutory demand requiring the judgment debtor to pay the debt. The debt would need to be above a prescribed amount – GBP5,000 at the time of writing (June 2026). If the judgment debtor fails to pay this debt, the next stage is to petition for a bankruptcy order with a view to a trustee in bankruptcy being appointed to collect the judgment debtor’s assets and distribute these to the creditors. In relation to a company, a statutory demand can also be served, although this is not always necessary. The debt would need to be more than GBP750 (as of June 2026); if unpaid, the next step would be to present a winding-up petition with a view to the appointment of
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