B & J

Civil Law and Civil Litigation

Our legal profession comprises of legal representation before German courts and authorities, cross-border claims, out-of-court consultation in English and German, advice on collection of debts (enforcement), litigation managament, qualified translation (German – English and vice versa).

Enforcement and Registation

We do: registration of (foreign) judgments in Germany, England and European Union, enforcement of foreign (EU-member states and non-EU member states) judgments and court orders in Germany and England.

International Contract and Business Law

Means: international purchase agreements, UN Convention of Contracts for the International Sale of Goods (CISG), international agency agreements, international distributor contracts, international General Terms of Purchase and Sale

European Litigation

Our expertise: Small Claims Procedures Regulation (EC) 861/2007, cross border claims EC-Regulation (EC) 44/2001 (Brussels I) and (EC) 1215/2012 (Brussels Ia), ROME I and II.

European Enforcement Orders (EEO)

Under the European procedure, a judgment creditor may apply for an European Enforcement Order certificate which is automatically enforceable in the European Union. There is no need to go through the registration of Foreign Judgment Procedures (see below).

"Uncontested Claims" are defined as:

a) claims on admission of a consent order approved by the court

b) claims to which the debtor never objected

c) claims where the debtor did not appear after initially objecting

Once the judgment has been certified as an EEO judgment by the Court in charge for the proceedings, the judgment may be lodged at the appropriate Court and can be enforced in the same way like any national judgment (see below).

Procedure for registration of foreign (European) judgments in the UK

Foreign Judgments are not automatically enforceable in England and Wales. Judgments must be registered by the High Court of London, who must be satisfied that particular conditions have been observed. However, European judgments can be registered by a fairly straightforward procedure at the High Court London.

This registration is done by preparing and submitting a pack comprising the following documents:

a) application notice

b) witness statement

c) draft order

d) original or certified copy of Foreign Judgment & translation into English

e) original Annex of Brussels Regulation certificate obtained from the Spanish Court & translation into English

f) where interest is recoverable on the foreign judgment, a written statement confirming the amount of interest that has accrued up to the date of the application; or the rate of interest, the date from which it is recoverable, and the date on which it ceases to accrue

This application is made without notice to the debtor and an order will be given for the judgment to be registered. Notice is given to the debtor that the judgment has been registered and is authrised for enforcement.

We charge 20-25 % of the claim value + VAT (if applicable) to take all the steps required to register your foreign judgment. In the event your application is contested, we would provide an additional fee quotation for the additional work required. The initial court fee is appr. £66.00.

Enforcement of Judgment

There are various options available dependent on the amount of the judgment and the individual circumstances of the Debtor:

a) Attachment of Earnings – arrest of debtor’s earnings

b) Charging Order – charge on land owned by debtor

c) Enforcement Officer - sell goods and collect information

d) High Court Enforcement Officer (debt over £5,000.00) - goods seised and sold to pay debt

e) Order to attend Court for questioning – to find out what assets the debtor owns

f) Third Party Debt Order – a creditor of the debtor pays you instead of the debtor

Each individual process will take about 3-6 months.