A certificated enforcement agent is a person appointed under Part 3 of the Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 in England and Wales, who may take control of goods and sell them to pay an amount of money when order to do so by a court. Until 2014, they were known as "certificated bailiffs".
The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 significantly reformed the process for taking control of goods in order to recover debts owed as a result of court judgments. This process requires a person to be an "enforcement agent" in order to exercise the powers it provides. Under section 63 of the Act, a person is an enforcement agent if they hold a certificate issued by a court (a "certificated enforcement agent"). [1] In addition, police constables, court officers, officers of Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs and people authorised to act on behalf of the Welsh Revenue Authority, and officers of government departments can act as enforcement agents without needing to hold a certificate. The Act therefore abolished the role of a "non-certificated bailiff", and "certificated bailiffs" became certificated enforcement agents.
A person may acquire a certificate to act as an enforcement agent under a procedure laid down by the Certification of Enforcement Agents Regulations 2014. This involves making an application to the County Court. [2] A judge then considers the application and issues a certificate if he is satisfied that the person: [2]
Once issued, the name of the enforcement agent is added to the national register, and their certificate is valid for two years, following which it must be re-applied for. [2]
The functions of an enforcement agent are laid down by the Taking Control of Goods Regulations 2013. The regulations reformed the ancient law of distress (distraint), providing a set of codified, written rules concerning the process used for taking control of goods and, if necessary, their sale at auction to recover amounts of money owed by debtors.
A sheriff is a government official, with varying duties, existing in some countries with historical ties to England where the office originated. There is an analogous, although independently developed, office in Iceland that is commonly translated to English as sherif.
A bailiff is a manager, overseer or custodian – a legal officer to whom some degree of authority or jurisdiction is given. Bailiffs are of various kinds and their offices and duties vary greatly.
Interpleader is a civil procedure device that allows a plaintiff or a defendant to initiate a lawsuit in order to compel two or more other parties to litigate a dispute. An interpleader action originates when the plaintiff holds property on behalf of another, but does not know to whom the property should be transferred. It is often used to resolve disputes arising under insurance contracts.
Replevin or claim and delivery is a legal remedy, which enables a person to recover personal property taken wrongfully or unlawfully, and to obtain compensation for resulting losses.
Distraint or distress is "the seizure of someone’s property in order to obtain payment of rent or other money owed", especially in common law countries. Distraint is the act or process "whereby a person, traditionally even without prior court approval, seizes the personal property of another located upon the distrainor's land in satisfaction of a claim, as a pledge for performance of a duty, or in reparation of an injury." Distraint typically involves the seizure of goods (chattels) belonging to the tenant by the landlord to sell the goods for the payment of the rent. In the past, distress was often carried out without court approval. Today, some kind of court action is usually required, the main exception being certain tax authorities – such as HM Revenue and Customs in the United Kingdom and the Internal Revenue Service in the United States – and other agencies that retain the legal power to levy assets without a court order.
Debt collection is the process of pursuing payments of money or other agreed-upon value owed to a creditor. The debtors may be by individuals or businesses. An organization that specializes in debt collection is known as a collection agency or debt collector. Most collection agencies operate as agents of creditors and collect debts for a fee or percentage of the total amount owed. Historically, debtors could face debt slavery, debtor's prison, or coercive collection methods. In the 21st century in many countries, legislation regulates debt collectors, and limits harassment and practices deemed unfair.
The courts of Scotland are responsible for administration of justice in Scotland, under statutory, common law and equitable provisions within Scots law. The courts are presided over by the judiciary of Scotland, who are the various judicial office holders responsible for issuing judgments, ensuring fair trials, and deciding on sentencing. The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland, subject to appeals to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, and the High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court, which is only subject to the authority of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom on devolution issues and human rights compatibility issues.
A law enforcement officer (LEO), or peace officer in North American English, is a public-sector or private-sector employee whose duties primarily involve the enforcement of laws, protecting life & property, keeping the peace, and other public safety related duties. Law enforcement officers are designated certain powers & authority by law to allow them to carry out their responsibilities.
A High Court enforcement officer (HCEO) is an officer of the High Court of England and Wales responsible for enforcing judgements of the High Court, often by seizing goods or repossessing property. Prior to 2004, HCEOs were known as sheriff's officers and were responsible for enforcing High Court writs on behalf of the high sheriff for each county, but they are now directly responsible for such writs. HCEOs operate only in England and Wales.
Decriminalised parking enforcement (DPE) is the name given in the United Kingdom to the civil enforcement of car parking regulations, carried out by civil enforcement officers, operating on behalf of a local authority. The Road Traffic Act 1991 (c. 40) provided for the decriminalisation of parking-related contraventions committed within controlled parking zones (CPZ) administered by local councils across the UK. The CPZs under the control of the local councils are also referred to as yellow routes and they can be easily identified with yellow lines marked on the roads with relevant time plates. Councils employ parking attendants to enforce their CPZs directly.
A Scottish statutory instrument is subordinate legislation made by the Scottish Ministers, as well as subordinate legislation made by public bodies using powers provided to be exercisable by Scottish statutory instrument. SSIs are the main form of subordinate legislation in Scotland, being used by default to exercise powers delegated to the Scottish Ministers, the Lord Advocate, the High Court of Justiciary, the Court of Session, and the Queen-in-Council.
The Tribunals, Courts and Enforcement Act 2007 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It provides for several diverse matters relating to the law, some of them being significant changes to the structure of the courts and fundamental legal procedures. Part 1 provides a scheme for radical overhaul of the tribunal system in the UK, creating a new unified structure with two new tribunals to embrace the former fragmented scheme, along with a Senior President of Tribunals. Part 2 defines new criteria for appointment as a judge, generally reducing the length of experience required with the aim of increasing diversity in the judiciary. Part 3 creates a new system of taking control of goods in order to enforce judgments and abolishes ancient common law writs and remedies such as fieri facias, replevin and distress for rent. It introduces a modern system of 'certified enforcement agents' and 'exempted enforcement agents' which includes civil servants such as court officers and County Court bailiffs, civilian enforcement officers and police officers. Part 4 makes some changes to attachment of earnings and charging orders to make recovery of debts more straightforward. Part 5 makes some changes to insolvency practice in order to provide low-cost protection for people who have previously been excluded owing to their small debts and lack of assets. Part 6 provides protection from seizure for foreign antiquities and artefacts on display in the UK and whose provenance is alleged to be broken by misappropriation. Such artefacts can only be seized on a court order that was compelled by a Community obligation or a treaty obligation.
The Royal Malaysian Customs Department is a government department body under the Malaysian Ministry of Finance. RMCD functions as the country's main indirect tax collector, facilitating trade and enforcing laws. The top management of JKDM is led by the Director General of Customs and assisted by 3 deputies, namely, the Deputy Director General of Customs Enforcement/Compliance Division, the Deputy Director General of Customs Customs/Inland Tax Division and the Deputy Chief Director of Customs Management Division. The Royal Malaysian Customs Department consists of several divisions, namely the Enforcement Division, the Inland Tax Division, the Compliance Division, the Customs Division, and the Technical Services Division.
Civilian enforcement officers (CEOs) are either employees or authorised officers of His Majesty's Courts & Tribunals Service and are responsible for enforcing magistrates' court orders. They can seize and sell goods to recover money owed under a fine and community penalty notice. They also execute, in England and Wales, warrants of arrest, committal, detention and distraint. Members of approved enforcement agencies have the same powers as civilian enforcement officers, but are employed by private companies. Both are referred to as 'authorised officers' in law.
County Court bailiffs are employees of Her Majesty's Courts & Tribunals Service and are responsible for enforcing orders of the County Court by recovering money owed under County Court judgments. Bailiffs can seize and sell goods to recover the amount of the debt. They can also serve court documents and effect and supervise the possession of property and the return of goods under hire purchase agreements.
Certificated bailiffs were employees by private companies empowered to enforce a variety of debts on behalf of organisations such as local authorities. They were abolished in 2014, when they were replaced with certificated enforcement agents.
An Act of Sederunt is secondary legislation made by the Court of Session, the supreme civil court of Scotland, to regulate the proceedings of Scottish courts and tribunals hearing civil matters. Originally made under an Act of the Parliament of Scotland of 1532, the modern power to make Acts of Sederunt is largely derived from the Courts Reform (Scotland) Act 2014. Since 2013, draft Acts have also been prepared by the Scottish Civil Justice Council and submitted to the Court of Session for approval.
Primary legislation and secondary legislation are two forms of law, created respectively by the legislative and executive branches of governments in representative democracies. Primary legislation generally consists of statutes, also known as 'acts', that set out broad principles and rules, but may delegate specific authority to an executive branch to make more specific laws under the aegis of the principal act. The executive branch can then issue secondary legislation, creating legally enforceable regulations and the procedures for implementing them.
In the United States, there is no consistent use of the office of constable throughout the states; use may vary within a state. A constable may be an official responsible for service of process: such as summonses and subpoenas for people to appear in court in criminal and/or civil matters. They can also be fully empowered law enforcement officers. Constables may have additional specialized duties unique to the office. In some states the constable is an elected or appointed position at the state or local level of local government. Their jurisdiction can vary from statewide to county/parish and local township boundaries based on the state's laws.