County Court Rules (Northern Ireland) 1981

PART III PROCEDURE UNDER ARTICLES 106 TO 110 OF THE JUDGMENTS ENFORCEMENT (NORTHERN IRELAND) ORDER 1981

Enforcement civil bill

4.—(1) Proceedings under Article 107 of the Judgments Enforcement (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 where no instalment order has been made by the Enforcement of Judgments Office under Article 30 of that Order shall be commenced by a civil bill in Form 172 (in this Order referred to as an “ enforcement civil bill”) requiring the debtor to appear personally before the court on the date therein specified.

(2) On the hearing of an enforcement civil bill the judge may make—

(a) an order in Form 173 (in this Order referred to as an “enforcement order”) requiring the debtor to pay the amount due in such manner or by such instalments as the judge thinks fit; or

(b) such an order committing the debtor to prison as may be made under Rule 5(2).

Committal civil bill

5.—(1) If the debtor makes default in paying the amount, or any instalment ordered under Rule 4 to be paid or due under an instalment order made by the Enforcement of Judgments Office under Article 30 of the Judgments Enforcement (Northern Ireland) Order 1981, the creditor may serve on the debtor a civil bill (in this Order referred to as a “ committal civil bill”).

(2) A committal civil bill shall be in Form 174 and shall set out—

(a) full particulars of the enforcement order which has not been complied with or of the order made under the said Article 30; and

(b) the amount or instalment (or instalments) in the payment of which default has been made;

and shall require the debtor to appear personally on the date therein specified before the court sitting in the division wherein the enforcement order was made or, in the case of an order under the said Article 30, in the division in which he resides or carries on business, to show cause why he should not be committed to prison for his default in complying with that order. An order made under this Rule is in this Order referred to as a “committal order”.

Service of civil bills and hearing of proceedings under Rules 4 and 5

6.—(1) Enforcement civil bills and committal civil bills shall be served personally on the debtor.

(2) Proceedings under Rules 4 and 5 shall be entered and conducted as if they had been commenced by ordinary civil bill, and county court rules and orders regulating procedure in relation to ordinary civil bills shall apply accordingly in so far as they are not inconsistent.

(3) Where proceedings under Rule 4 or Rule 5 are taken to enforce—

(a) a decree of a county court, the decree shall be produced in court at the hearing of the proceedings;

(b) a judgment or decree of any court other than a county court, a certified copy, or other sufficient evidence of such judgment or decree shall be so produced;

and where proceedings are taken under Rule 5 to enforce an order made by the Enforcement of Judgments Office under Article 30 of the Judgments Enforcement (Northern Ireland) Order 1981, a duly authenticated copy of the order shall be produced in court at the hearing.

(4) Upon the hearing of every enforcement civil bill and committal civil bill the judge may require evidence of any proceedings theretofore taken for the enforcement of the judgment or decree.

Committal order

7.—(1) A committal order—

(a) shall be in Form 175;

(b) shall bear the date on which it was made; and

(c) shall continue in force for one year and no longer.

(2) A committal order shall be addressed to the Chief Superintendent or, as the case may be, Superintendent for the Constabulary Division in which the debtor resides or is to be found.

Discharge from custody

8.—(1) A debtor taken into custody under a committal order shall not be released from custody unless he pays to the constable or the governor of the prison to which he is committed the full amount of the debt or instalment in respect of which such order was made and the costs of the order or upon receipt by the governor of the certificate of discharge prescribed under paragraph (5).

(2) A constable or prison governor to whom a sum of money is paid by a debtor in accordance with paragraph (1) shall issue to the debtor a receipt therefor and shall endorse on the committal order a certificate of the amount he has received and the date thereof and the constable or prison governor shall sign his name at the foot of the certificate.

(3) Such sum shall be transmitted forthwith together with the committal order certified in accordance with paragraph (2) to the chief clerk of the court which issued the order and the amount of such sum shall be entered into a record book kept for the purposes of this Rule and then transmitted to the creditor or his solicitor forthwith.

(4) The creditor or his solicitor on receiving the sum transmitted to him by the chief clerk under paragraph (3) shall send him a receipt therefor.

(5) The certificate prescribed for the purposes of Article 10"9 of the Judgments Enforcement (Northern Ireland) Order 1981 shall be in Form 176 signed by the solicitor for the creditor, or signed by the creditor and attested before a justice of the peace or a commissioner for oaths, that there has been paid to or on account of the creditor by or on behalf of the debtor—

(a) the debt or instalment in respect of which he was imprisoned;

(b) the costs of the committal order;

and the creditor or his solicitor shall, if the debtor so requires, furnish to the debtor a copy of such certificate.