The enforcers
Report calls for unified digital enforcement court
Unpaid judgments delivered by all civil courts in England and Wales should be enforced by a new unified digital court, according to the Civil Justice Council.
The council, whose primary role is to give advice on civil matters to the lord chancellor, the judiciary and the civil procedure rule committee, made its recommendation in a report published yesterday.
“The current system of enforcement, divided between the High Court and the county court, is not working as it should,” the report says. “It is for this reason that the Civil Justice Council is recommending the consolidation of enforcement through a single court.”
It adds:
The digital enforcement court should have a portal that retains information about the defendant’s financial position and dealing with all the debts relating to one individual or party — including those outside the court process. This proposal aims to remove delays and inefficiencies, whilst ensuring that the party in debt retains the protection of the court.
Beyond that, the 100-page report is light on detail. Acknowledging that more work will be needed, it says:
Consolidating the system into a single court will require decisions to be made as to the appropriate enforcement measures available under a single service. In particular, this will require careful consideration between the different measures that are currently available, including fee structures.
A move towards the High Court model for enforcement has the potential of shifting costs onto defendants: for the vulnerable “can’t pay” defendants that would exacerbate the harm. It would be necessary for careful consideration to be given to the costs and fees of enforcement and whether there needs to be central funding.
The report’s authors believe that enforcement should remain a court process. But separating it from the issues in the case would leave the High Court or county court free to decide a claim without having to consider a debtor’s assets or vulnerabilities.
The Civil Justice Council is chaired by Sir Geoffrey Vos, Master of the Rolls. Thanking Karen Walden-Smith, the circuit judge who chaired the working group that produced the report, Vos said:
For too long, civil enforcement processes in England and Wales have been overly complex and unwieldy.
There is an obvious need for rationalisation and modernisation, but it is a subject that has perhaps always been placed in the “too difficult” box. This work aligns perfectly with the core mission of the Civil Justice Council.
Tackling the obstacles that impede users from effectively obtaining and enforcing judgments in our courts will help make the civil justice system more accessible, fair and efficient.
I hope that all stakeholders will carefully examine the recommendations made in this report which I am confident, if adopted, will lead to significant improvements in the enforcement landscape for all.
I look forward to reading the Civil Justice Council’s review of the recommendations and their progress in a year’s time.
The report makes other detailed recommendations that will be of interest to those working in the fields of debt and enforcement.