Suspension of enforcement proceedings: methods and techniques, legal advice

The enforcement procedure itself is mandatory. When it is carried out, it is never taken into account whether the citizen, in relation to whom it is carried out, desires it. However, in practice, life is often unpredictable, and therefore, if there is reason to suspend enforcement proceedings, the procedure can be temporarily postponed to a later date. However, a person should clearly know in what cases and in the presence of life circumstances, it is possible to initiate a suspension, so that, if necessary, you can use it to your advantage. This article will discuss how to achieve your goals and postpone this procedure using a motion to suspend enforcement proceedings.

The concept

At times, situations arise in a person’s life during which it is simply impossible to apply coercive measures to him, since they cannot be implemented. It is then that the authorities (a judge or bailiffs) can exercise their right to a moratorium and suspend enforcement proceedings for a while.

The term "suspension" is now understood as a temporary interruption during the execution of executive actions, which, as a result, will continue only after an indefinite period, namely, after the problems hindering the enforcement proceedings cease to exist. As you can clearly see, in the laws the term of suspension of enforcement proceedings by the court or the bailiff is not discussed in any way, because it is simply impossible to determine the time frame for how quickly the problem disappears.

The legislative framework

Those who wish to find out on what dogmas the possibility of applying the procedure for suspending enforcement proceedings is based are advised by lawyers to carefully study one federal law. Namely, in No. 229- "On Enforcement Proceedings", which entered into force on October 2, 2007, 2 articles are devoted to this procedure - 39 and 40.

It clearly spells out in which cases suspension of enforcement proceedings by the bailiff and the court may occur. Unfortunately, there are no other normative legal acts to resolve this issue, however, existing articles play an important role in this area.

Court suspension

The court is the body that, in the presence of good reason, can carry out the suspension of enforcement proceedings. A couple of dozen years ago, the court was generally the only body that had the power to do this, although subsequently some of the powers were transferred to the bailiffs. Depending on the mandatory nature of these grounds for suspension, it is customary to divide them into 2 groups - optional and mandatory, but in this case one thing remains the only one - a court decision is issued for their use.

The law determines that the consideration of such applications must take place within 10 days after filing the application with the court. After that, the decision is directly transferred to the Federal Service of Bailiffs, and after this, the procedure for interrupting the proceedings takes place until the circumstances that caused the court to make such a decision do not disappear.

Mandatory grounds

The court simply becomes obligated to suspend proceedings in the following situations:

1. When challenging property valuation acts.
2. When contesting the bailiff's decision on the collection from the debtor of the enforcement fee due to him.
3. Upon filing a lawsuit in the court, in which it is required to exclude any part from the seized property or in order to achieve release from arrest of all property.

Optional grounds

Optional circumstances relate to those when the court can intervene and suspend the collection process, but only on their own, and not out of duty. Such cases include:

1. The procedure for contesting the writ of execution.
2. The debtor has been on a business trip for a long time, and therefore simply cannot start paying the writ of execution.
3. There is a petition in the court’s proceedings, which requires challenging the court’s decision, and there is additionally a complaint about the actions of the bailiff from the defendant or the collector.
4. The plaintiff or defendant directly appealed to the court in order to correctly explain to them the methods and procedure for enforcing execution on the writ of execution.

Grounds for the bailiff

The procedure for suspension of enforcement proceedings under the new legislation is allowed for bailiffs. In order for them to apply their powers in this area, they do not need to hold any court hearings, so everything goes much simpler and easier. The grounds on which bailiffs should intervene directly in the case are also divided into mandatory and optional.

Mandatory grounds

Bailiffs are always required to suspend production if there is one of the following reasons:

1. The debtor himself died or was declared missing by the court, but the recovery procedure on the writ of execution allows his transfer to another person if necessary.
2. The person who acted as the defendant in the case was declared legally incompetent.
3. The person from whom funds were to be collected is involved in hostilities or is carrying out a military assignment, and therefore is not able to fulfill his duties.
4. The arbitration court is in the process of declaring the organization against which the enforcement proceedings opened bankrupt.
5. The court considers the case of the debtor with a request to defer payments or reduce the amount of payments.

Optional grounds

Bailiffs may, if they wish, suspend proceedings in some cases, but they are not at all mandatory if:

1. The defendant or debtor has been in hospital for a long time and cannot pay.
2. In relation to the debtor, the investigating authorities conduct search activities.
3. The debtor was sent to military service and, in connection with this, sent a statement to the bailiffs on the suspension of enforcement proceedings until its completion.

Debtor's statement

Almost always, in practice, the enforcement proceedings are suspended at the request of the debtor. This method is applied when the debtor or the collector does not agree with the exact amount of his property, or even with the fact that the executive fee must be collected from the person. It is quite common practice that property is valued at a price that is quite lower than the market price, and therefore, in the end, a loss can occur for both parties.

Also, the suspension procedure often takes place in cases directly related to child support. In the presence of a number of circumstances, the parent can be removed from maintenance obligations if he has lost his job. A sample application for suspension of enforcement proceedings can be taken directly from the bailiffs, they always have standard forms, which should be freely available.

Mandatory information in the application

Although there is no single form for writing a statement on the suspension of enforcement proceedings, because an arbitrary form is allowed here, lawyers advise to adhere to the following requirements for information that must be entered into the document:

1. Data on the claimant and the applicant, as well as the executor who directly performs the enforcement proceedings.
2. The date and number of the case, as well as the reasons why the applicant wishes to suspend.
3. Links to laws and regulations that would substantiate the suspension procedure.

In addition, several photocopies will need to be attached to the application itself:

1. The decision to initiate enforcement proceedings, as well as papers that confirm the grounds for suspension of the case.
2. A document that would confirm the identity of the applicant. Usually his role is played by a passport, and also in the case when the interests of the applicant will be protected by a legal representative, then an additional letter of attorney must be attached.

Suspension Dates

As can be understood from the definition, the procedure for suspension of proceedings does not mean that it is completely terminated, it is simply postponed until the moment when all the circumstances that compelled the court or bailiffs to suspend it are terminated. However, it is impossible to find specific calendar terms for this anywhere in the law, as stated in article 42 of Law No. 229, since it is almost never exactly impossible to say when obligations will cease to be a reason for suspension. Ultimately, the suspension can be canceled only by the same authority that appointed it first, that is, only the bailiff can cancel the decision if the bailiff initially made it. The same situation is with the court.

Renewal procedure

After the circumstances that served as the reason for applying the suspension procedure have ceased to exist, it is necessary to resume the enforcement proceedings. It is this that leads to the fact that coercive measures, which should have been directed at the debtor, again have legal force and are required to be executed. The laws clearly spell out in what order the renewal procedure should take place. First of all, in order to initiate it, you need to send a statement to the appropriate authority, which will contain evidence that all circumstances have been completely eliminated.

Conclusion

It should always be remembered that the suspension of enforcement proceedings by a court or bailiffs is only a temporary measure, which is canceled when the circumstances that gave rise to it cease to exist. Although it is not possible to accurately determine the time limit for how quickly the problem will disappear, it is a priori limited, after which actions with respect to the debtor are resumed. All the grounds that the court and bailiffs can use to carry out the suspension procedure were clearly stated above, they are always divided into mandatory and optional. In all the subtleties of the nuances of this system, it is quite difficult to understand an unprepared person in terms of jurisprudence, therefore, lawyers are often additionally used as assistants in these cases.