A High Court Enforcement officer is a court officer of the High Court of England who is responsible for enforcing judgments of the High Court, usually by seizing property or repossession of property. This person is entitled to become a judge after passing the Bar examinations. An order to become a High Court judge must be passed by the House of Commons with a two-thirdsthirds majority. There are eleven High Courts in England.
A High Court judgment is a court case which has been decided by a Court of Law in the UK. A judgment may be either general or specific. A court of law will make a ruling on the matter and either the parties involved in the case to present their case before the judge to make a binding judgment. There are four elements required for a judgment to be made by the court of law: proof, evidence, identity, and jurisdiction.
Evidence is essential for proving the facts of a case and for getting the best result. The officers are known as bailiffs and they have the power to seize any property that is used by the judgment debtor as collateral, such as a home. There are special warrants, which are issued by the high court enforcement officer for a specified region to serve a judgment debtor.
A High Court Enforcement officer may also be called upon by a creditor’s petition to enforce a debt. This means that the creditor has asked them to step into court and try and get a judgment against the debtor to recover monies owed. The process is known as commencing proceedings. Once a petition for enforcement of a debt has been started, the enforcement officer may begin searching for any property that is owned by the judgment debtor.
To start enforcing the writ of attachment or writ of garnishment the officer must first obtain a writ of attachment. This writ is issued by the high court enforcement agent and it tells the debtor that there is a judgment against them and states the amount of money that is owed. Once this is issued the debtor must give notice of their inability to pay the amount specified in the writ. If they are unable to do so they must pay the full amount plus interest, and fees within a specified time. If they fail to pay the amount specified in the writ, the lender will then have the authority to take the property and sell it to recover the outstanding debt.
It is important to note that creditors and debt collectors cannot legally threaten a debtor with either garnishment or attachment. In fact, the only threat they are allowed to make is to place a lien on the property. It is also important to note that although high court enforcement officers can legally execute writs of attachment and garnishment they cannot arrest a debtor. Once a bailiff has obtained a writ of attachment or garnishment, they can not return the property until the creditors have paid off the entire debt. There are two exceptions to this rule. If the creditors were able to personally retrieve the property before the bailiff, then the courts may allow the creditors to obtain physical possession of the property in order to collect the debt.