125th Anniversary of the High Court Enforcement Officers of England and Wales

 

This event was preceded in the afternoon with a visit to the Royal Courts of Justice, one of the most photographed buildings in the world and in which coexist over a hundred and fifty judges.
About two hundred participants gathered to wish a happy anniversary to the High Court Enforcement Officers Association (HCEAO) during a dinner both very friendly and solemn, with its traditional toast to the Queen.

In his speech, President Leyshon discussed recent developments in the association, the difficulties encountered as well as its successes.
He recalled that in the late ninety, a law (Wolf Reform) saw access for creditors obtaining judgment in the High Court restricted to £ 15,000 and over, which has resulted in the sheriffs - who became High Court enforcement Officers (HCEO) in 2004 - losing at least 98% of their work!
Despite this, HCEO succeeded in securing new business. The biggest challenge said Martin Leyshon were the reforms of 2004, whereby the jurisdictional boundaries were lowered and government threw the HCEO into a competitive situation. He recalled: “Our friends whom we had taken years to build up close relationships with, were now our competitors, and I can tell you from personal experience that feeling was not good. But we just got on with it”. 
Meanwhile, the president of the HCEOA said his organization had modernized: a very informative website, a code of conduct, a proper complaint procedure, and especially the 2004 regulation for HCEO.
To conclude, Martin Leyshon did not fail to recall that HCEOA is a member of the UIHJ, which has international recognition and that the event was highlighted by the presence by its president Leo Netten, as a guest speaker.

Martin Leyshon then gave the floor to one of his predecessors, John Marston, OBE, HCEO, who was chair of the HCEOA for over twenty years.
John Marston discussed the development of the profession during that time. In particular, he referred to the many missions in which he participated for the Council of Europe, several in conjunction with the UIHJ, including its first secretary, Mathieu Chardon, also present.
He also noted the CEPEJ Guidelines on enforcement, prepared by the CEPEJ Working Group on enforcement which he chaired.

Then Leo Netten took the floor to thank the HCEOA and its President for their invitation to participate in this ceremony.
President Netten mentioned that the UIHJ celebrated this year its 60th anniversary. He stated that the UIHJ currently comprises 73 members, including 35 in Europe. He recalled that HCEO became members of the UIHJ during the Permanent Council of the UIHJ in Glasgow on 16 May 1980. In May 1998, the relationships developed at the occasion of the first European permanent Council of the UIHJJ, held in London.
Referring to the guidelines on enforcement, Leo Netten stressed the importance for judicial officers to expand their activities, particularly those - numerous - in this document.
"The UIHJ has been repeating this for years. All enforcement proceedings should be entrusted to a competent liable highly trained professional: the judicial officer. And the judicial officer should perform these other functions, as required by the guidelines of the CEPEJ "continued President Netten.
Then he praised the former presidents of the HCEOA, John Marston and Claire Sandbrook, for their work in promoting the profession of judicial officers internationally during their respective mandates.

Finally, on the occasion of this anniversary, and as a token of the appreciation of the UIHJ on the actions undertook by the HCEOA, Leo Netten handed the Gold medal of the UIHJ to its president.