UK Law and Practice Contributed by: Simon Bushell and Gareth Keillor, Seladore Legal
• whether the party is located in a state to which a multilateral or bilateral service con - vention applies. If the claimant is seeking alternative service on a party out of the jurisdiction, and that method of service would be within the jurisdiction, the claimant must still obtain permission to serve out of the jurisdiction.
requires the defendant to sell the property or asset in order to satisfy the judgment. A third-party debt order A third-party debt order freezes assets that are owned by the defendant but which are in the hands of a third party, such as a bank. In doing so, it restricts the defendant’s ability to access those assets and may lead to the third party being required to make payment to the claimant. Insolvency proceedings If the result of the judgment is that the defend - ant no longer has sufficient assets to pay their debts, it may be possible to apply for them to be wound up (in the case of a company) or made bankrupt (in the case of an individual). In such circumstances, the defendant’s assets will vest in a trustee in bankruptcy or a liquidator, who will then seek to realise the value of those assets and pay the defendant’s creditors accordingly. Care should be taken before initiating insolven - cy proceedings, as the amount received by the claimant will depend on: • the value of any assets owned by the defend- ant; and • the interests of any other creditors (particular - ly preferred creditors such as employees, or those who hold a security interest in particular assets). Examination of the debtor Where the judgment debtor is within the jurisdic - tion of the English courts, it is possible to obtain an order for their examination. This requires the judgment debtor to attend court and be cross- examined about their assets and affairs. If the judgment debtor does not attend, or does not answer truthfully, they may be subject to pro - ceedings for contempt of court.
5. Enforcement 5.1 Methods of Enforcement
In England and Wales, the court will not auto - matically enforce any judgment or order that is obtained against a defendant. In circumstances where the defendant fails to make payment by the timeframe set by the court, the claimant will be required to take steps to enforce the judg - ment (including by seeking a further order from the court). Common Forms of Enforcement in Fraud Proceedings A freezing order It is possible to obtain a post-judgment freez - ing order. This is more straightforward than obtaining a freezing order before a claim is com - menced, and it can be a useful tool in securing assets pending other enforcement mechanisms being used. A charging order A charging order imposes a charge over the defendant’s interests (including beneficial inter - ests) in specific land, securities or other assets. In doing so, it prevents the defendant from sell - ing the land or assets without paying what is owed to the claimant (assuming there are no other prior creditors). A charging order is some - times combined with an “order for sale” , which
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