GERMANY Law and Practice Contributed by: Christian Strasser, Thomas Wambach and Yannick Greimann, HEUKING
30 days. If an objection is filed, the proceedings may, at the discretion of the creditor, continue before the competent court in accordance with the national rules of ordinary civil proceedings. If the defendant does not object, the European payment order automatically becomes enforceable. If the order is enforced in Ger - many, enforcement is governed by the general rules. In addition to court orders and court judgments, court settlements between the parties are also enforceable. In addition, there are a number of other documents, eg, notarial deeds, valid as enforceable documents. A list of documents, which the German civil procedure classifies as enforceable titles, can be found in Sec - tion 794 of the ZPO. 2.2 Enforcement of Domestic Judgments The ZPO sets out different requirements for enforce - ment. These requirements are divided into general and special enforcement requirements. The special enforcement requirements differ according to the property on which the enforcement is to be carried out. General Requirements Enforcement of a payment judgment requires the creditor to obtain an enforceable copy of the judg - ment. For this, a court certificate of enforceability must be added to the title (cf Sections 724 and 725 of the ZPO). The creditor can obtain this court certificate from the court that rendered the decision after the debtor has not complied with the judgment within the performance period and no further appeal is possible so that the title becomes final and binding between the parties. This enforceable title must be brought to the debtor′s attention (cf Section 750 of the ZPO). Whether the creditor has to arrange for service themselves or this is arranged ex officio depends on the nature of the previous proceedings. If the creditor is responsible for service, they must contact the competent body for this purpose or can arrange for service by a lawyer if a lawyer represents the other party. The individual enforcement measures must be applied for to the competent body by submitting standardised
forms. These forms have been revised and updated on 1 September 2024 and must be used in the revised version. The competent enforcement body is determined by the specific asset targeted, leading to distinct enforce - In the case of enforcement against the debtor′s tan - gible assets, the competent body is the bailiff at the local court in whose district the debtor has their domi - cile or, in the absence of this, their place of residence at the time the assignment is issued (cf Section 802 of the ZPO). The creditor can assign the service of the enforceable award and the execution of the enforce - ment itself to the local bailiff. Attachment of Claims If the payment order is to be enforced by attachment of claims and other property rights of the debtor (such rights can be shares of a company, bank accounts, wages, etc), the competent body for this purpose is the enforcement court ( Vollstreckungsgericht ) (cf Sec - tion 828 of the ZPO). The enforcement court, in this sense, is the local court with which the debtor has their general place of jurisdiction in Germany. Oth - erwise, the local court in whose district the debtor’s property or the object claimed in the proceedings is located shall have competence. As the enforcement court, the local court will issue an attachment and transfer order ( Pfändungs- und Über- weisungsbeschluss ) to attach a monetary claim. The attachment and transfer order consists of two parts: the attachment order seizes the debtor′s claim against a third party; the debtor may no longer dispose of the seized claim. The transfer order prohibits the third- party debtor from making the payment to the debtor; the payment is instead made to the creditor. ment proceedings, as outlined below. Enforcement Against Tangible Assets Additionally, at the request of the creditor, the third- party debtor must submit a third-party debtor declara - tion. The creditor thus has a right to information on the existence and value of the garnished claim.
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