The international congress is the supreme body of the UIHJ. It is held every three years and consists of all the judicial officers depending on the national chamber or associations on those. It is on this occasion that the members of the board and the president of the UIHJ are elected, and where the orientations for the future years are decided. Its resolutions are obligatory. This international congress also makes it possible to link and join together during a few days the whole of the judicial officers and members of the legal profession of the world who have as a concern of serving justice, fighting against corruption and to make progress the State of law world-wide, in friendship and brotherhood. Because of the number of topics approached, the congress of Washington D.C proceeded over three days, from the 26 to April 28, 2006, in the premises of the Double Tree hotel, in Arlington.
A large professional organisation at the service of all the judicial officers
Jacques Isnard, president of the UIHJ, presented the traditional moral report over the three preceding working years of the UIHJ. Our president stressed that the activity of the UIHJ did not cease progressing in the last few years. This activity was primarily marked by an increased deployment of our presence in Asia, in certain parts of Europe, and obviously in Africa.
Thus, between 1 January 2004 and the 1st quarter of 2006, UIHJ has implemented 93 missions throughout the world, from China to South Africa, through Russia and Mexico.
“The Union is the cog that drives a continuous chain, so it will be no surprise that its calendar of activities is already almost full until the end of 2006!” Jacques Isnard noted. The president of the UIHJ stressed that our UIHJ has on 9 occasions sent its experts to major international organisations, which are the Council of Europe, the European Union and the Hague Conference on private international law, as well as to project managers of European programmes (e.g. Azerbaijan). He then presented the policy direction of the UIHJ, underlining the irresistible rise, in the whole world, of the liberal statute of the judicial officer, while recalling that the activities of the judicial officers are different from a country to another. Except for a certain number of African States (the Maghreb, central and Western Africa, Madagascar), the service of documents is marginal. The collection of debts is sometimes even prohibited while statements of facts are almost unknown. The UIHJ was thus given for objective, after the promotion of the liberal judicial officer, to homogenise the field of their activity by privileging, in addition to the enforcement of court decisions, the service of documentd and the recovery of debts.
The UIHJ has also continually shown itself to have a concern for the economic situation of judicial officers by investing in the promotion of new centres of activity. One should remember the extent to which our organisation was involved over these past 3 years in the conquest of market share for debt recovery in organising the competition against debt recovery companies.
It is therefore necessary to guide the profession towards a new objective: that of a multi-disciplinary approach, which entails taking into account new givens, such as the imminent configuration of geopolitics over the next 10 years with the increasing power of China and India. This must be seen in context, without obscuring the fact that internal legislation is placed under constant guardianship arising from powerful and influential federative organisations, such as the Council of Europe, the EU, Ohada, etc.
The profession does however have an advantage, which is particularly valuable, and which may have bearing on its future, which is its potential in activities that have not yet been exploited. To this end it would be appropriate, in the first instance to draw up an inventory of the existing scope at the same time as considering possibilities for new openings and future perspectives available to the profession of judicial officers. This aspect could be the focus of a future UIHJ programme.
With this in mind, the initiatives of the UIHJ should be relayed to the respective national chambers. It will be noted the extent to which the experience of debt recovery has unearthed a considerable receptiveness on the part of national chambers, equally in Europe, Africa and America.
It is undeniable that in each case, successes are due to the dynamic contributed by private practice judicial officers, who are naturally more interested in this aspect than their office-holding colleagues.
Then, president Isnard evoked the representation of the UIHJ in the world and its decentralised organisation, with in particular « UIHJ Euromed », gathering 7 Member States of the UIHJ coming from countries located around the Mediterranean. The Scandinavian seminars join together, twice yearly, with the help of the permanent secretary of the UIHJ for Scandinavia, Denmark, Finland, Sweden and more recently Norway. The exchanges relate to topics of comparative law in Scandinavia.
Concerning the communication, the creation of the membership cards of the “UIHJ Club” was a great success with 715 cards issued in 2005. The president did not fail to thank the members of the Club by indicating that their action contributed to improve the budget of the UIHJ. Lastly, Jacques Isnard named the four new members having joined the UIHJ since the international congress of Tunis in 2003: Cyprus, Swaziland, Thailand and Zimbabwe. After having greeted the work achieved by Luisa Lozano, secretary of the UIHJ and the whole of voluntary “Union aficionados”, the president finished his report by greeting, in the name of all the board, each of the presidents of delegations and told them how great his esteem was as regards their involvment. Without them, their implication and often their sacrifices, he concluded, the Union would not be what it is: a large professional organisation at the service of all the judicial officers.
To get in contact
After this brilliant introduction came the official ceremony of the opening of the congress.
Sue Collins, former president of the National Association of Professional Process Servers (Napps), president of the congress, wished the welcome to the 450 present congressmen who came from the Europe, Africa and America. Sue Collins indicated that she wished that each one be able to benefit from his stay in the United States and to familiarise with the city of Washington D.C. Quoting president Isnard, our colleague pointed out that a congress is a privileged place for professional exchanges. It is a place where you can network with colleagues from your own country and other countries from around the globe. It is a forum for the sharing of ideas, skills, methods and talents. The dialogue that takes place here can help every member to find solutions to professional challenges, giving every participant the chance to share new ideas.
The theme of the congress: “Towards a world code of the execution”, “effectiveness of the procedures: the evidence, the provisional measures and the execution” and “the harmonization of the procedures of execution in a space of justice without border” are the mark of the extraordinary results achieved by the UIHJ, indicated Sue Collins. The president of the congress then indicated that our industry is truly becoming “global”. With the growth of the Internet, that vastly improved communication, the time difference between us has virtually disappeared. Citizens feel less constrained to remain one place, leaving their birth-countries and moving across the globe. Families have come together from different ends of the earth. Companies are hiring employees from other countries, selling and manufacturing products and goods in one country for export to another. Businesses can now effectively service clients from many different places all over the globe. More industries are expanding beyond the borders of a single nation to serve even larger markets in many nations. Lawsuits originate in one country and assets are found in another. All of these situations are growing trends that will substantially increase the need for greater international civil cooperation. Our industry, represented by this Union, said Sue Collins, will need to grow, develop relationships, and foster unifying accords not only in our own countries, but also throughout the world.
Sue Collins did not forget to invite the whole of the participants, in the name of Napps, to take part in the “Country & Western” evening to taste with the American welcome. Our host finally described the various rejoicings which were going to await the congressmen and their close relations in parallel of the activities of the congress: the official gala dinner, visits of Washington and post-congress in Washington or New York. The discoveries in Washington are numerous and varied: a multitude of museums and prestigious sites among which the The White House, the Capitol, the Washington Monument, the Air and Space Museum, the Gallery National of Art, the Pentagon, Lincoln' s Monument, etc
Then the president of the court of the District of Columbia, Rufus G. King, welcomed the whole of the participants, by pointing out the importance of the mission of the agents in charge of the enforcement of court decisions. Mr. King also invited the congressmen to benefit from their stay in Washington and to visit and discover the cultural richness of the capital of the United States.
The nine pillars of the world code of enforcement
Leo Netten, first vice-president of the UIHJ then presented the program of the three days of congress and yielded the word to Bernard Menut, rapporteur of the congress who launched out, successfully, in the exercise of the presentation of work of the congress. The secretary of the board of the UIHJ, in a brilliant speech, gave us the genesis of the World code of enforcement. Justice is reached like many other fields by globalization.
Thus today it is up to the judicial officers to found the basis of a harmonization of the rules of enforcement for the construction of a world code of enforcement.This code will have to answer requirements of legibility because the legal provisions must be simple, to be understood by all, and effective.The enforcement of court decisions aims at restoring the economic balance and thus contributes to making confidence reign between the actors of the economic world whatever various is the constitution of their inheritance.
Of course enforcement alone is not aimed and the code will also stick to the provisional measures by envisaging for one as for the other a limitation in time around a reasonable time.
To create a whole of common rules will reinforce ethics between the professionals charged to apply them. However if the enforcement of justice is in connection with the economic world it is also connected with sociology and the world code will have to show flexibility to be able to be adapted in all the countries.
The world code will define the role of anybody taking part in legal operation.
the judge (who must be independent):
The enforcement agent: a civil servant or an independent agent?
Parties: their rights and their duties
Third parties: identification and participation
The titles melting the committed measurements will consist in the decisions of the judges and the tax titles.
The enforcement agent will be in charge of the information of the parties, this information which will preliminary be concomitant or posterior with the enforcement will have to be comprehensible, fast and exhaustive. The abandonment of the principle of enforcement on the person to the profit of the enforcement by equivalence on the goods of the debtor implies a patrimonial transparency assured by the sanctioned participation of the debtor and the access to information for the enforcement agent. In theory, enforcement relates to the totality of the inheritance of the debtor. Any principle has its exceptions, the first being the proportionality of measurements. During the course of operation the presence of the applicant is prohibited and that of the defendant optional. The world code will be able to pose the principle of the unavailability of the goods seized by leaving the option to each country to freeze or remove them. To close the enforcement, the legal officer will implement the sale of the goods, except for the credits let them be of money or the values defined on a market for which attribution to the creditor will be the principle.
Finally the code will envisage the possibilities of dispute of the measurements engaged by ensuring the promotion of the creation of a judge of enforcement for whom it will determine the jurisdiction ratione loci as well as the material competence.
The construction of the world code of enforcement rests on nine pillars:
- Speed of engagement of measures
- Effectiveness
- Transparency
- Access to patrimonial information
- Proportionality of measures
- Simplification of the rules of procedures
- Liability of the agent
- Ethics
- and reasonable cost of measures
Towards world standards as regards the service of documents
The first workshop devoted to the proof was animated by our fellow-member Mathieu Chardon (France), member of the Committee of the UIHJ. He was assisted by Guy Aidans, president of the National Chamber of the judicial officers of Quebec, Alphonse Kibakala, president of the national chamber of the judicial officers of Congo, Adrian Stoïca, judicial officer in Costanza (Romania) and Fred Blum (Napps, the USA).
“It is time to introduce a protean judicial officer, but for better harmonising of the world rules of the service of documents”, Mathieu Chardon indicated. Basing his presentation on the practises of the service of documents in the world and on the experiment of the fellow-members installed at his sides, our colleague started a reflexion on the world standards as regards service of documents. Thus, to offer the best guaranteed rights to the citizens, the service of documents must be carried out personally to the recipient by the judicial officer or a professional especially competent to this end. Within the exclusive framework of his mission, the judicial officer or the agent in charge of the service must be entitled to obtain information concerning the place where remains the recipient of the document, or that where he can be usually met, such his place of work, exclusive of any other information. The questioned organisations cannot oppose the professional secrecy to the judicial officer or the agent in charge of the service who will have made the request by means of a standardised form. The document must make it possible to determine with precision the identity of the applicant, that of the judicial officer or the professional in charge of the service and to fully engage their liability in the achievement of their mission.
The service can also be carried out by electronic means, but only under the following cumulative conditions:
- a convention exists between the applicant and the recipient of the act authorising the electronic way like mean of communication likely to generate legal effects, according to a proposed template
- the service is carried out directly by the judicial officer or the agent in charge of the service, by means of a protected protocol
- the recipient of the document aknowledges its reception to the judicial officer or the agent in charge of the service by means of a safe protocol within eight day
Lastly, the conditions of the handing-over of the act must be reported with precision in a document which has an official value and engages the liability of his author.
The intervention of the judicial officer in the field of interim measures
The second workshop was directed by our fellow-member Jeroen Nijenhuis (Netherlands), who come to replace Jos Uitdehaag. Mr Nijenhuise was assisted by our colleague Nicola Hesslén (Sweden), Ismail Sabeir, president of the national chamber of the sheriffs of South Africa, and Filifing Dembélé, president of the national chamber of the judicial officers of Mali. This workshop treated interim and interlocutary measures.
Mr Nijenhuis specified that in Holland the judge authorizes measures on the request of the creditor without needing any proof. All the responsibility lies then on the applicant.
He added that the judges of the courts of first instance in his country did not have any technical training on enforcement. On the other hand, the Dutch judicial officers are themselves excellent technicians in the field of procedure. They are experts and specialists. Mr Nijenhuis also wondered whether one could not make the economy of the judge....
On this point he wanted to collect the opinion of his colleagues around the table:
- in South Africa, the judicial officer receives the orders of the court, then the sheriff carries out
- in Sweden, the separation of powers is effective, however it would be necessary to reconsider the system, for perhaps adopting the Dutch one
- in West Africa, in the texts of the Ohada, the judge authorizes interlocutary measures, except for certain debts.
Mr Nijenhuis insisted then on the human aspect of the profession of the judicial officer who, beyond the expertise, must have a human behavior in the respect of the rights of the debtor and the interests of the creditor. Taking again the remarks of Mr Menut about ethics, Mr Nijenhuis insisted on their importance. Every party has the right to be heard: the creditor is entitled to a system of effective enforcement and the debtor needs to be protected, in the respect of the European convention on Human Rights.
“The effectiveness and the speed are the keys of the action of the judicial officer but he shouldn't sacrifice everything to that “indicated Mr Nijenhuis. He wondered whether transborder enforcement was possible: « Can a Dutch judicial officer carry out a measure in Sweden, for example? » was the question he asked to the participants.
- in South Africa, the judicial officer belongs to a district as that of Pretoria, thus the transborder enforcement is impossible.
- in Sweden it is a very important question. There is Interpol and Europol with regards to the police force of the world; it would be necessary to have something similar for the judicial officers.
- in the framework of the concerned countries, regarding the texts of the Ohada, competence comes from the judicial. The problem of the effectiveness of enforcement in Africa is a problem of material and human means.
In conclusion, Mr Nijenhuis wished that the intervention of the judicial officer, as regards interlocutory measures, be made without the authorization of the judge, if the proof of the credit seems to him irrefutable provided that the debtor preserves an immediate possibility of legal dispute.
An evening with the Cow-boys of the Wild Wild West
After this intense morning and a buffet where each one could take again forces, go was given for the “Country & Western” evening offered by Napps. Indeed, around 8 p.m., the hall of the hotel suddenly filled with individuals wearing traditional Cow-boys outfits, including hats, bandanas and shirts. Did the West come to invade the East? Do not worry, they were only a few hundreds of judicial officers coming to pay respect - in their own way - to the conquest of the West, and quite simply to pass a marvellous evening in pleasant company! For the boldest, the evening was completed on the last floor of the hotel in the panoramic rotating saloon with unspoilable view on the Pentagon and Washington D.C.
Steven Spielberg and international conference
The following day, Thursday April 27, everyone was ready for the now traditional audio-visual session prepared by our fellow-member René Duperray, called by the specialists “the Steven Spielberg of the profession”, so much are impressive his control of the camera and the suspense unceasingly spared in his films. Be your own judge. The mysterious and worrying theme retained for this session was: « From traditional justice to network”. “And now, what will happen next ?” one wondered by looking at the images which transported us to meet our fellow-members of the four corners of the world, from Burkina Faso (where we met “Mogho Naba, emperor of Mosse), to Thailand, through Algeria and the Netherlands.
This incredible journey was a grood preparation to the much awaited international conference which proceeded on the topic of “the harmonization of the procedures of enforcement in a space without border”.
Our fellow-member Roger Dujardin (Belgium), vice-president of the UIHJ was the chairman of the session. Around him were Honoré Aggrey (Ivory Coast), permanent secretary of the UIHJ, Kraisorn Barameeauychay (Thailand), vice-secretary of State to Justice, Alda Kemelmajer de Carlucci (Argentina), judge at the supreme Court of Mendoza, member of the American Law Institute, Pim Albers (Netherlands), special advisor at the CEPEJ, the Council of Europe, Mark Neal (the USA), assistant United States Trustee, Departement of justice, Stephen L. Bluestone (the USA), Attorney, director of the Bluestone international law firm (for the presentation of Mr Bluestone go to: http://www.bluestonelaw.com or the following link: http://www.bluestonelaw.com/speech_uihj.pdf), and Christophe Bernasconi, first secretary of the Hague Conference on private international law.
Where the judicial officers do not exist, there is no legal security
The president of the UIHJ reconsidered the will of the States, at the term of the Second World War, to gather around three concepts: economy, peace and protection of human rights, but forgetting for too long period the legal consequences.
“ Globalization is an iconoclast concept sacrilized by the financial world”, he exclaimed, although some tracks of reflection were carried out in the direction of harmonization.
President Isnard carried on: “Enforcement is no longer a myth, but can one really talk about the right of enforcement or the right to enforcement? »
The European Court of Human rights sanctioned this right in a case in March 19, 1997, leaving however open the question of the autonomy of a European right of enforcement, which question was asked at the time of a conference of the UIHJ, in 2002 in Paris.
In this respect, the Ohada treaty is a success: 16 countries of West Africa, adopted a unicity of currency, legal right, and legal system. This is unique in the world.
« Is it necessary to make a report of deficiency » enquired the president?
No. The law professionals and initially the UIHJ took initiatives and international conferences organized by the profession have shown since a long time that there cannot be favorable grounds for businesses, without legal security. He raised the implication of the Council of Europe with the creation of the Eu ropean Commission for the Efficiency of Justice (CEPEJ), the regulation of the European Court of Justice, the driving role of Unidroit and the American Law Insitute, in particular with the work on the creation of a transnational booklet of civil procedure. Without forgetting the essential role carried out by the professionals in the process of harmonization of the enforcement procedures: a very active role in the Ohada zone with training seminars proposed by the French National School of Procedure denouncing “the protean judicial officer”.
The statement remains: “where the judicial officer does not exist, there is no legal security” he added, “whereas is established a private justice, factor of insecurity”.
In order to achieve harmonization, international agreements or treaties, the introduction of an international code recommended by Unidroit, the reform of the exequatur in Europe or the European legal code, are as many positive steps.
In conclusion, Mr. Isnard stated that a right of the enforcement, requested and effective, requires an economic will, and an action from the lawyers and the professionals: the sum of the wills...
Ten years of application of the treaty of Ohada
Honore Aggrey then established a ten years assessment of application of the treaty of the Organisation for the harmonization in Africa of the right of the businesses (Ohada). With the adoption of the Ohada treaty on 18/09/1995, one can reasonably think that Africa can add its contribution to the hamonization.
After ten years of application of the ten uniform acts, one can say that they contributed to the safety of the legal environment of the companies in Africa.
The uniform act on enforcement applied in a progressive way, by reinforcing the role of the judicial officers. The creation of new forms of seizures like those of intangible goods with the seizure of the rights of associates, the transferable securities and bank accounts or the seizures of personal property such as the terrestrial seizure of motor vehicles are as many effective tools for execution.
We think that the judicial officers of the Ohada zone will be the first professionals of the legal area to propose reforms at the Council of Ministers of Ohada, concluded our colleague.
Three categories of judicial officers in Thailand
In our country we use the same code of civil procedure since 1945, indicated Kraisorn Barameeauychay.
According to the latter, he carried on, after judgment it is up to the judge to give the judicial officer the order to carry out, the latter being a civil servant in Thailand.
There are three categories of judicial officers:
- those who are in charge of auctions of personal property and real estate
- those who are in charge of collective procedures and bankruptcy,
- those who are in charge of enforcement
Finally if enforcement is not possible on goods it is deferred on the person of the debtor.
In 1997, the economic growth accelerated in Thailand and with it the number of conflicts.
We then decided to open the profession of judicial officers to private people.
Obviously we ran up against the reluctance of many persons but I am persuaded that it is the best solution for the effectiveness of enforcement.
« We are curious to understand what is occuring in other countries, and that is what we are waiting from this congress », concluded Mr Barameeauychay.
Towards the creation of an area of justice in Mercosur?
Mrs de Carlucci then speak to wonder whether one could consider the creation of an area of justice in the Mercado Comun del Sur region (Mercosur - Common Market of the Southern Cone)?
The founding countries of the Mercosur area are Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay. The other South American countries are only associated.
The Founder Treaty was signed in 1991 and simply assigned the obligation to adopt a common solution to the conflicts before 31/12/1994.
On 17/12/1991, the Protocol of Brasilia created the Court of the ad hoc conflicts; then in 1995, the Protocol of Ouro Preto modified the institutional structure of Mercosur and regulated the provisional measures.
Finally the last step was crossed in 2002 with the protocol of Olivos which consecrated in its first article the possibility of resorting to the “forum shopping”, the choice having to be made before the opening of the negotiations.
It envisages the possibility of moving towards simplified mechanisms for purely technical questions.
If the ad hoc court has few quantitative results, its qualitative results are remarkable and thus make it possible to note the direct effects of measurements of Mercosur.
One can quote a famous decision of 2002 which has enjoined the Member States not to enact contrary to legal provisions to the Community rules and which fixed the completion periods of the decisions (the reasonable time being a back-up troop of the time allowed by the decision itself).
The great principles of Mercosur are thus the acceptance of the arbitration and the achievement of the decision by that which is subjected to it.
Mercosur reflects the countries which compose it with their limits and their capacities and it is necessary to the development of their potential.
A questionnaire of the CEPEJ
Then Mr. Albers, evoked the action of the European Commission for the effectiveness of justice (CEPEJ). Mr Albers points out the importance of the execution of the judgment within a “reasonable” time.
He greets the action of the UIHJ which takes an active part in the work of the Commission that he chairs by thanking Mr. Menut and Mr. Netten.
He insists on the problems raised by the unenforcement of court decisions of in the Member States.
To try to solve these problems, the Commission addressed a questionnaire to the Member States to determine which was their system of enforcement and the status of the enforcement agents, with more precise questions about enforcement time, enforcement itself, the status of enforcement agents, the organisational representation and costs of the execution.
The results of this questionnaire will be published in September 2006.
Three bankruptcies per minute in the USA
Mark Neal treated execution of the judgements in the American system of the bankruptcy. In the USA, there are three bankruptcies per minute. This is why the Congress tries to adopt common standards with the objective to strike a balance with regard to the protection of the debtors and the creditors.
The legislation envisages four systems of bankruptcy:
- Liquidation of the companies
- procedures reserved for large companies
- Bankruptcy of the private individuals
- Transborder Bankruptcy
In each one of these systems, there is a principle of the suspension of enforcement procedures like the principle of equality between the creditors; A report on the patrimony (active / passive) is drawn up by a trustee, who is a private professional in charge of the sale of the assets. The guaranteed debts cannot be erased.
In practice, we realize that the rate of recovery remains very weak.
Steven L. Bluestone carried on with the theme of the enforcement of fereign judgements in the USA. To be enforced in the United States, a foreign judgment must:
- be final
- be enforceable in the country of origin
- have been served to the debtor
- relate to the civil and commercial matters.
At the same time, the rights of defense must be respected
An important matter arises, that of the judgment by defaults which cannot be recognized in the majority of the American states. A new lawsuit should then be made on the spot but this solution is not satisfactory because it often discourages the applicants.
The new convention of the Hague Conference
Lastly, to finish this international conference, Christophe Bernasconi, who had already intervened at the time of the preceding international congress of Tunis in May 2003, presented the contribution of the Conference of The Hague of private international law as regards international legal co-operation, in particular recent convention on the clauses of election of the for.
By essence, the international treaty cannot be restricting and thus does not give place to harmonization.
The Hague Conference does not treat execution directly but it takes part in it by the means of all conventions and in particular those concerning the service of documents.
A draft convention on choice of Court Agreeements, an extremely complex convention which is registered in margin of the traditional concept of enforcement, is currently being studied.
The international treaty essentially cannot be constraining and thus does not give space to harmonization. The Hague Conference does not treat execution directly but takes part in it by the means of all conventions and in particular that concerning the notifications and the significances. A draft convention on the clauses of election of the for, extremely complex convention moreover and which is registered in margin of the traditional concept of the execution, is currently being studied, indicated the first secretary of the Conference of The Hague.
Enforcement in five parts
After a discussion and havin heard the contributions of the congressmen, the works of the 3rd workshop immediately followed. Chaired by our fellow-member Marc Schmitz (Belgium), member of the Committee of the UIHJ, the topic of the enforcement were declined in 5 parts. Marc Schmitz was surrounded by colleagues from three continents: Ornyjay Phoolthanang (Thailand), department of enfrocement at the ministry for Justice, E. Gogla Batamak, judicial officer in Yaounde (Cameroun), Elin Vilippus, president of the national Chamber of the judicial officers of Estonia, and Hans Eckhard Gallo, president of the Gerichtsvollzieher (Germany).
“The best judgement given by the best judge does not have any value if it is not carried out in an effective way” stated Marc Schmitz. In the advance of the process of execution, many shelves occur.
On the way to the enforcement process, many obstacles occur. The chairman decided to select five of them which were approached by the colleagues.
About the time limit for enforcement limited, a question was asked: are you authorized to receive the payment by instalments, have you got a delay to enclose the files?
In Thailand, after the judge's decision, there is a ten years limit to launch enforcement measures.
In Germany, the payment by instalments is limited to 6 months. The date may be deferred to 12 months with the creditor's agreement.
In Estonia, the code does not fix any limits in time.
In Cameroon, no provision is envisaged; the judicial officer grants them instalments.
On the protection of the debtor and the proportionality of expenses, our colleagues were brought to bear witness as to answer the question of knowing if the seizure is regarded as a means of pressure or fulfilment in their respective country.
In Cameroon, expenses are advanced by the creditor; seizure is a means of pressure and fulfilment under the responsibility of the judicial officer.
In Thailand, the objective is to sell but seizures are rather a means of pressure.
In Estonia, one cannot sell the seized goods if there is no proportionality; therefore seizure is a means of pressure
As regards the relations between the police force and the judicial officers, is their assistance fast in particular within the framework of doors opening?
In Estonia, the judicial officer can open the doors, with the authorization of the court and the assistance of the police force.
In Germany, the judicial officer is the only person responsible for enforcement.
In Thailand, the judicial officer is responsible for the seizure and directly requests the assistance of the police force
In Cameroon it is an obligation for the judicial officer to request the assistance of the police force which often takes a long time to obtain
About the access to a data base concerning the inheritance of the debtor or his address
In Germany, the debtors must make obligatory statements under oath.
In Estonia, the judicial officer has access to the register of the population and especially to the tax register, the court can oblige the debtor to declare under oath.
In Thailand, the creditor gives the information on the debtor to the judicial officer
In Cameroon, no obligation weighs on the debtor. The creditor has to make the searches.
About the role of the judicial officer in the framework of the distribution of the sale product or the seized funds and the creditors' assistance?
In Cameroon, it is necessary to take account of the debtor's situation and of the assistance between creditors
In Thailand, the distribution is first received by the secured creditors.
In Estonia, there is no seizure assistance, a reform is in progress.
In Germany, the judicial officer's expenses come first; the product of the sale is distributed according to the order of creditors.
The floor was then given to the room.
Jazz and relaxation in the USA
It is while listening to jazz music - the United States obliges - that was held the official dinner which allowed everyone each one to relax and look further into the new friendships which were tied during the previous days. It was also the occasion to discuss in an abstract way or to get acquinted with the “Washington Congress Gazette”, publication written by a team of the UIHJ during the working sessions.
The new board of the UIHJ
To finish work of the congress, the elections of the new office proceeded on Friday April 28, from 9 a.m. 15. Here the composition of the new board:
- Jacques Isnard (France), president
- Leo Netten (Netherlands), first vice-president
- Roger Dujardin (Belgium), vice-president
- Yacine Seine (Senegal), vice-president
- Bernard Menut (France), secretary
- Andre Mathieu (Quebec), member
- Jean Christin (Swiss), treasurer
- Adrian Stoïca (Romania), assistant treasurer
- Mourad Skander (Tunisia), member
- David Walker (Scotland), member
- Francis Guépin (France), assessor
- Roland Demeerleer (Belgium), assessor
- Emmanuel Minoungou (Burkina Faso), Account commissionner
- Gyula Kovacs (Hungary), Account commissionner
Wishes for the future
Our fellow-member Bernard Menut presented the wishes of the congress, which were voted at once. Here is the text.
Considering that the World Code of enforcement appears to be a legal, economic and social necessity,
Considering the essential contribution of the judicial officiers as regards the processes of information, protection and guarantee of the citizens, as well as regards enforcement,
The congress of the Judicial Officers convened in Washington D.C. on 26, April 27, and 28 2006 issued and ratified the following wishes:
Wish 1
When receiving a judicial or an extrajudicial document, every citizen must receive an objective, comprehensible and secured information in order to protect his rights,
Wish 2
The Judicial Officer must be able to initiate and implement all the interim enforcement measures adapted to protect the interests of both the applicant and the defendant,
Wish 3
The Judicial Officer responsible for the enforcement of an executory title must have a total access to information relating to the assets of the debtor,
Wish 4
The congress invites all stake holders of the legal, judicial and economic world to participate with the Judicial Officers in the creation of the World Code of Enforcement.
In his closing speech, president Isnard did not fail to thank all the delegations for their renewed trust at the time of his fifth mandate. He also thanked the congressmen for their participation and their support to the UIHJ. He wished to everyone a good end of stay on American ground and a good return in their respective countries. The president of the UIHJ again stressed the importance of the actions undertaken by the UIHJ while indicating which would be the axes for the three next years, with the continuation of the development of the relationships with the United States, America and Asia and work on the world Code of enforcement, without forgetting the economic aspects of the profession nor the regional seminars. These many actions in prospect will surely make us help to wait until the next international congress of the UIHJ which will be held in Marseilles (France), in 2009! Appointment is already taken...
Focus
