Enforcement of Judgments: Garnishee Proceedings and Charging Orders

Jonathan Gray discusses enforcement of judgments as a crucial aspect of the legal system in Hong Kong. When a party is successful in obtaining a judgment, it is important to ensure that the judgment is enforced and the debtor complies with the court’s order. Two common methods of enforcement in Hong Kong are garnishee proceedings and charging orders.
Garnishee proceedings refer to a legal mechanism by which a judgment creditor can recover the debt owed to them by intercepting funds owed to the debtor by a third party. This process involves obtaining a court order to freeze the debtor’s bank account or other assets held by a third party. Once the order is granted, the funds held by the third party are used to satisfy the debt owed to the judgment creditor.
Charging orders, on the other hand, are used to secure the debt owed by the judgment debtor against their assets. A charging order is a court order that places a charge on the debtor’s property or assets. This prevents the debtor from disposing of or transferring the assets without settling the debt. The charging order can be registered against various types of assets, including real property, shares, and securities. Once the charging order is registered, the judgment creditor can proceed to enforce the charge by way of a sale of the charged assets.
Jonathan highlights the procedure and the process of funds recovery.
SHOW NOTES:
00:22 Enforcing a judgement against a debtor
02:01 The application process
03:13 Timing and eventual pitfalls
04:00 Charging Orders
05:41 Funds recovery