Civil Judgment Enforcement Advisory

Winning a lawsuit is only half the journey — the other half is enforcement: compelling the losing party to actually perform its obligations. Many judgments are “won on paper” but no money is recovered because the judgment creditor does not know how to request enforcement, or requests it too late, after the judgment debtor has already dissipated its assets.

Grounds for Requesting Enforcement

Under the Law on Enforcement of Civil Judgments 2008 (as amended and supplemented in 2014), the judgment creditor has the right to request the civil judgment enforcement agency to organize enforcement on the basis of:

Court judgments and decisions that have taken legal effect;
Commercial arbitration awards;
Other decisions as prescribed by law (decisions of the Competition Case Handling Council…).

The limitation period for requesting enforcement is 5 years from the date the judgment or decision takes legal effect (Article 30). If the limitation period expires without a request, the right to request enforcement is lost — except in cases of objective obstacles or force majeure events.

Procedure for Requesting Enforcement

Submit an enforcement request to the District Civil Judgment Enforcement Office where the first-instance court sits (accompanied by the effective judgment or decision);
The enforcement officer issues an enforcement decision, setting a voluntary compliance period (10 days);
Verification of the assets and income of the judgment debtor;
Application of securing and coercive measures: deduction of income, seizure of assets, auction of seized assets, freezing of accounts…;
Payment to the judgment creditor in order of priority; conclusion of enforcement.

Practical Difficulties and How to Handle Them

The judgment debtor has no assets: if the enforcement officer verifies there are no assets, a decision of “not yet eligible for enforcement” is issued — but the judgment creditor has the right to provide asset information and request re-verification when new assets are discovered;
Asset dissipation: swift action is needed immediately after the judgment takes effect; during proceedings, interim emergency measures should be requested;
Delay and resistance: there are sanctions for administrative violations and criminal liability (the crime of non-compliance with judgments — Article 380 of the Penal Code 2015);
Enforcement involving land and housing: complicated due to planning issues and co-ownership — close coordination between the lawyer and the enforcement officer is needed.

Rights of the Judgment Creditor

To be notified of the enforcement process; to agree with the judgment debtor on enforcement; to request the application of securing and coercive measures; to lodge complaints against decisions and acts of the enforcement officer; to request a change of enforcement officer where there are grounds.

How Does ANT Legal Assist?

Drafting enforcement requests and preparing complete dossiers as soon as the judgment takes effect;
Providing information and coordinating in verifying the judgment debtor’s assets;
Monitoring and urging the enforcement process; lodging complaints when violations occur;
Advising on complex enforcement cases (land, jointly owned assets).