Actions that debtors can take to counter a European Account Preservation Order on their bank accounts

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A debtor bound by a cross-border debt to a creditor, whether or not the latter holds an enforcement order, may have their bank assets frozen by a special attachment order known as the European Account Preservation Order.

The debtor is:

  • not informed of the application for an account preservation order;
  • nor given the opportunity to be heard before the preservation order is issued.

The aim of the procedure is to make sure the debtor is temporarily unable to disburse any of the money in their bank accounts before a judge rules on the validity of the debt requiring payment.

The debtor may take action only after their assets have been frozen by the bank.

Who is concerned

Any person (be they a natural or legal person) who holds a cross-border civil or commercial debt against a debtor (a natural or a legal person) may apply for a European Account Preservation Order.

The creditor cannot make use of this type of attachment if the debt arises from:

  • matrimonial or patrimonial regimes governing relationships comparable in effect to marriage (e.g. a civil partnership or a PACS);
  • wills and testaments and inheritances (including maintenance obligations resulting from a death);
  • social security debts;
  • arbitration decisions.

In addition, creditors may not make use of this type of attachment if bankruptcy, business liquidation or debt agreement proceedings have already been initiated against the debtor.

The European Account Preservation Order procedure is applicable in all EU Member States (with the exception of Denmark). This means that:

  • a creditor residing in Denmark cannot apply for an attachment on an account held in Luxembourg;
  • a creditor residing in Luxembourg cannot apply for an attachment on an account held in Denmark.

Prerequisites

Domicile (residence)

The creditor may be resident in the same EU Member State as the debtor, but the debtor's account must be held in a different EU Member State (with the exception of Denmark) as:

  • the State holding jurisdiction over the application; or
  • the State in which the creditor lives or is headquartered.

Example: A creditor and a debtor both live in Luxembourg, but the debtor's account is in France.

Unattachable monies

Monies exempt from attachment under the law of the Member State where the bank account is located cannot be seized.

Preliminary steps

When the attachment application is filed, if the creditor does not know the details of the debtor's bank account, they may ask the judge with whom the application for the European Account Preservation Order was filed to obtain that information from the competent authority in the Member State in which the attachment is to be executed. The creditor must indicate the reasons why they believe that the debtor holds one or more accounts with a bank in a specific EU Member State.

This information request can also be filed before the decision has acquired force of res judicata. However, in that case, the creditor must provide the judge with sufficient evidence to convince them of the urgent need to obtain information about the debtor's bank accounts. The urgency may be due to the risk that the debt will be lost, and the danger of a significant deterioration in the creditor's financial situation.

It should be noted that the conditions governing the transfer of such information between the bank and the authority in charge of collecting this information vary from one Member State to another.

 

The debtor will only be informed of the procedure by their bank 30 days after the bank has forwarded the information to the authority seeking it, to ensure that the European Account Preservation Order can be effectively enforced.

How to proceed

Filing of actions by the debtor

In Luxembourg, the debtor must file their appeal with:

  • the magistrate with jurisdiction in the territory, for any debt less than EUR 15,000;
  • the competent District Court, for any debt exceeding EUR 15,000.

The debtor:

  • may file an appeal at any time;
  • must file their appeal using the "Application for a remedy" form (Annex VII) (see the section 'Forms / Online services').

Appeal to revoke a European Account Preservation Order

The debtor may file an appeal with the authority that issued the attachment order, requesting that the order be revoked, if:

  • the creditor, or even the judge, failed to observe the proper procedure for obtaining the attachment;
  • the debtor had not been provided with the following documents within 14 days of the attachment:
    • the order;
    • the declaration;
    • the notification of the order;
  • the documents attached to the notification of the order were not sent:
    • in the language of the Member State in which the debtor is domiciled; or
    • where the Member State in question has multiple official languages, in a language which the debtor understands;
  • the amounts frozen by the attachment exceeding the amount specified in the order were not released by the creditor;
  • the debt has been paid in full or in part by the debtor;
  • the decision handed down by the judge rejected the application relating to the debt which the creditor sought to recover by means of the attachment order;
  • the decision handed down by the judge, the court settlement or the authenticated instrument which the creditor sought to enforce by means of the order was set aside or overturned.

Limiting appeal against the enforcement of the Account Preservation Order

In some circumstances, the attachments are not applied correctly when the order is implemented, or they are so significant that the debtor is no longer able to satisfy their essential needs. If permitted by the law of the Member State, the debtor may then ask the court or the competent authority to limit the amounts attached.

Appeal against the decision

In Luxembourg, for any order handed down in the first instance, the creditor may appeal against the decision before:

  • the District Court with jurisdiction for the territory, if the initial judgement was issued by a magistrate;
  • the Court of Appeal, if the initial judgement was issued by a district court.

The debtor has 15 days, from the date of notification of the initial order, to file their appeal. To do so, they must use the "Appeal against a decision on a remedy" form (Annex IX) (see the section 'Forms / Online services').

Appeal against the enforcement of the Account Preservation Order

The debtor can ask the court in the executing Member State to halt the enforcement of the order, if:

  • the account on which the attachment is being made is immune from a European Account Preservation Order (see the section 'Who is concerned');
  • the executing Member State has refused to enforce the decision, court settlement or authenticated instrument that the creditor sought to enforce with the attachment order;
  • the enforceability of the decision that the creditor sought to enforce with the order has been suspended in the originating Member State;
  • one of the cases justifying the use of the appeal to revoke the European Account Preservation Order has been cited (see 'Appeal to revoke a European Account Preservation Order');
  • the order is manifestly contrary to public order in the executing Member State.

Good to know

Service of the Account Preservation Order on the debtor

When the debtor:

  • is domiciled in the same Member State as that in which the Account Preservation Order was issued: notification of the order is served by the judge or the creditor, depending on the law of the competent Member State;
  • is domiciled in a different Member State to that in which the Account Preservation Order was issued: the attachment order procedure is forwarded by the judge or creditor to the competent authority for acknowledgement, transfer and notification of the order in the State in which the debtor is domiciled, which authority will take the necessary steps to ensure that the documents are notified in accordance with the law of that Member State.

In Luxembourg, the attachment order is notified to the debtor by a bailiff.

When the European Account Preservation Order applies to multiple banks, only the first declaration stating that an attachment has been obtained for the amounts will be served on the debtor by the judge or creditor.

Any subsequent declaration indicating that other monies have been attached is brought immediately to the debtor's attention.

Freezing of accounts

Immediately upon receiving a copy of the order from the judge, the bank will freeze the debtor's account(s) up to the amount of the debt being claimed.

Forms / Online services

European Payment Order forms

on the European e-Justice Portal

To complete your application, the information about you collected from this form needs to be processed by the public administration concerned.

That information is kept by the administration in question for as long as it is required to achieve the purpose of the processing operation(s).

Your data will be shared with other public administrations that are necessary for the processing of your application. For details on which departments will have access to the data on this form, please contact the public administration you are filing your application with.

Under the terms of Regulation (EU) 2016/679 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, you have the right to access, rectify or, where applicable, remove any information relating to you. You are also entitled to withdraw your consent at any time.

Additionally, unless the processing of your personal data is compulsory, you may, with legitimate reasons, oppose the processing of such data.

If you wish to exercise these rights and/or obtain a record of the information held about you, please contact the administration in question using the contact details provided on the form. You are also entitled to file a claim with the National Commission for Data Protection (Commission nationale pour la protection des données), headquartered at 15, boulevard du Jazz L-4370 Belvaux.

By submitting your application, you agree that your personal data may be processed as part of the application process.

Formulaires d'injonction de payer européenne

sur le Portail e-Justice européen

Les informations qui vous concernent recueillies sur ce formulaire font l’objet d’un traitement par l’administration concernée afin de mener à bien votre demande.

Ces informations sont conservées pour la durée nécessaire par l’administration à la réalisation de la finalité du traitement

Les destinataires de vos données sont les administrations compétentes dans le cadre du traitement de votre demande. Veuillez-vous adresser à l’administration concernée par votre demande pour connaître les destinataires des données figurant sur ce formulaire. Conformément au règlement (UE) 2016/679 relatif à la protection des personnes physiques à l'égard du traitement des données à caractère personnel et à la libre circulation de ces données, vous bénéficiez d’un droit d’accès, de rectification et le cas échéant d’effacement des informations vous concernant. Vous disposez également du droit de retirer votre consentement à tout moment.

En outre et excepté le cas où le traitement de vos données présente un caractère obligatoire, vous pouvez, pour des motifs légitimes, vous y opposer.

Si vous souhaitez exercer ces droits et/ou obtenir communication de vos informations, veuillez-vous adresser à l’administration concernée suivant les coordonnées indiquées dans le formulaire. Vous avez également la possibilité d’introduire une réclamation auprès de la Commission nationale pour la protection des données ayant son siège à 15, boulevard du Jazz L-4370 Belvaux.

En poursuivant votre démarche, vous acceptez que vos données personnelles soient traitées dans le cadre de votre demande.

Formulare „Europäischer Zahlungsbefehl“

auf dem europäischen e-Justiz-Portal

Ihre in diesem Formular erfassten personenbezogenen Informationen werden von der zuständigen Verwaltungsbehörde verarbeitet, um Ihren Antrag erfolgreich abzuschließen.

Diese Informationen werden von der Behörde für den zur Verarbeitung erforderlichen Zeitraum gespeichert.

Die Empfänger Ihrer Daten sind die im Rahmen Ihres Antrags zuständigen Verwaltungsbehörden. Um die Empfänger der in diesem Formular erfassten Daten zu erfahren, wenden Sie sich bitte an die für Ihren Antrag zuständige Behörde.

Gemäß der Verordnung (EU) 2016/679 zum Schutz natürlicher Personen bei der Verarbeitung personenbezogener Daten und zum freien Datenverkehr haben Sie das Recht auf Zugang, Berichtigung und gegebenenfalls Löschung Ihrer personenbezogenen Informationen. Sie haben zudem das Recht, Ihre erteilte Einwilligung jederzeit zu widerrufen.

Weiterhin können Sie, außer in Fällen, in denen die Verarbeitung Ihrer Daten verpflichtend ist, Widerspruch einlegen, wenn dieser rechtmäßig begründet ist.

Wenn Sie diese Rechte ausüben und/oder Einsicht in Ihre Informationen nehmen möchten, können Sie sich unter den im Formular angegebenen Kontaktdaten an die zuständige Verwaltungsbehörde wenden. Sie haben außerdem die Möglichkeit, bei der Nationalen Kommission für den Datenschutz Beschwerde einzulegen (Commission nationale pour la protection des données, 15, boulevard du Jazz L-4370 Belvaux).

Wenn Sie Ihren Vorgang fortsetzen, akzeptieren Sie damit, dass Ihre personenbezogenen Daten im Rahmen Ihres Antrags verarbeitet werden.

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