Enforcement of Money Judgments

Introduction

Obtaining a judgment is **not the end of the matter**. A money judgment is only as good as the **steps taken to enforce it**: the court will **not** collect the debt automatically, and the burden falls on the **judgment creditor** to take enforcement action. This chapter explains how a creditor finds out about the debtor's means through an **oral examination** (CPR Part 71), the **four common methods of enforcement** (**taking control of goods**, **charging order**, **third party debt order** and **attachment of earnings order**), and the procedures for enforcing an English judgment **abroad** and a foreign judgment **in England and Wales** following Brexit.

Assessment focus

For the SQE1 FLK1 Dispute Resolution assessment, you must be able to **advise a client who has won at trial but not been paid**. Questions are single best answer questions (SBAQs) set in **realistic client-based scenarios**: you will be asked to choose the **most suitable method of enforcement** given facts about the debtor's assets, or to identify which method is **available** on the facts (for example, an attachment of earnings order is only available against an **employed individual**, not the self-employed, the unemployed, a partnership or a company). You should be able to explain the **purpose and procedure of an oral examination** under CPR Part 71, the **exempt 'necessary items'** that cannot be seized when taking control of goods, and the framework for **cross-border enforcement** post-Brexit (CPR Part 74, the Hague Convention, the AJA 1920 and the FJREA 1933). This is a closed-book assessment.

Study tips

1) Memorise the **four methods of enforcement** and one key restriction for each. 2) Remember the **monetary thresholds**: necessary work items exempt from seizure up to an aggregate value of **£1,350**; an attachment of earnings order needs at least **£50** still owing. 3) Note that the **High Court has no power** to make an attachment of earnings order — the matter must be **transferred to the County Court** first. 4) An attachment of earnings order is only available against an **employed individual** — not the self-employed, the unemployed, a partnership or a corporation. 5) For cross-border work, link the **forum** to the **regime**: Scotland/Northern Ireland (CPR Part 74, six-month window), the **Hague Convention** (exclusive jurisdiction clauses, no interim measures), Commonwealth countries (**AJA 1920 / FJREA 1933**), and everything else under the **common law regime** (final, conclusive judgment for a definite sum).