Executory attachment is attachment levied on the basis of an enforceable title, such as a judgment or a notarial deed. Unlike prejudgment attachment, the assets attached may then actually be sold.
Legal basis
Book 2 of the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure governs enforcement. Article 430 requires an enforceable title and service of it on the debtor. Articles 439 onwards govern attachment of movables, Article 475 garnishment including wage and bank attachment, and Articles 502 onwards attachment of immovable property with public sale. Article 475d contains the protected minimum income, calculated automatically since the Simplification of the Protected Earnings Rules Act. Articles 447 and 448 list assets exempt from attachment, including bed and bedding, clothing and tools needed for the debtor’s trade. Article 438 provides the route for enforcement proceedings before the provisional relief judge.
How it works in practice
The bailiff first serves the judgment with an order to pay. If payment does not follow, attachment ensues. Bank attachment catches only the balance at the moment of levy; wage attachment continues while the debt lasts. Where several creditors have attached, the bailiff distributes pro rata unless there is priority. For the debtor, enforcement proceedings are the route where the title has been exhausted, the claim has already been paid, or enforcement amounts to abuse of power.
Where it goes wrong
Creditors levy attachment without first checking whether there is anything to recover; costs then mount without result. A second error is overlooking the protected minimum income, which leads to repayment. Third, debtors leave enforcement proceedings too late, and a public sale is hard to undo.
Related terms
Attachment follows writ of summons proceedings, sits alongside prejudgment attachment and connects to the mortgage right.
Do you need to enforce a judgment, or are you being enforced against? Our civil law specialists assess the options.
