Court of Enforcement

The court of enforcement deals with the assignment of financial claims and other asset entitlements. In addition it also covers compulsory sales and compulsory administration. All this makes it, alongside the bailiff, the most important enforcement authority. Its tasks are mainly carried out by legal counsels. Only the issue of search warrants, arrest warrants enforcing a statutory declaration and a decision in respect of an enforcement reminder are dealt with by the judge.

Competent at local level is the court of enforcement whose district covers the enforcement procedure, which means the area in which the debtor has his residence or registered office. If he is living abroad, the court covering the area in which the 3rd party debtor has his residence or registered office is competent.

Enforcement clause, enforceable document

The enforcement clause is a requirement necessary when applying for i.e. issuing an enforcement document of the enforcement title. It reads as follows:

"The foregoing document is issued to (description of the party) for enforcement purposes."

It is issued by the court clerk of the court of first instance and, should the case be heard by a higher court, by the court clerk of that specific court.

Basically, any enforcement title also requires an enforcement clause in order to be able to initiate enforcement. Exceptions merely apply to the enforcement order, the arrest warrant and provisional measures as well as the order determining the costs for the court case.

A variation of the above mentioned enforcement clause is the enforcement issued to a legal representative of the creditor or debtor mentioned in the title.