Declaration that a notary’s enforcement order is not enforceable

A notary’s enforcement order is one of the most popular and effective means of protecting creditors’ rights and interests out of court. The claimants are usually banks or their successors in title.

However, as judicial practice shows (including the practice of specialists at the Svarog law firm), questions continue to arise regarding notaries’ compliance with legal requirements when issuing notarial enforcement orders.

Generally, debtors and their guarantors only become aware of the notary’s enforcement order at the stage when enforcement proceedings are already underway. This may occur when a bailiff’s order to garnish wages is served at the workplace, or when the owner of immovable property or a vehicle discovers that their assets have been seized or put up for electronic auction.

At the same time, the debtor is not deprived of the right to defend their rights and interests by suspending the enforcement proceedings, appealing against the notary’s enforcement order, and seeking the return of unlawfully seized funds or seized property.

A notary is entitled to issue an enforcement order on a debt instrument only after verifying that all conditions for such issuance are met, namely:

• whether the claimant has submitted the original document (or a duplicate document having the force of the original) establishing the debt, and whether it has been notarised;
• whether the claim falls within the category of debt referred to in the List of documents on the basis of which debt recovery is carried out in an undisputed manner on the basis of notarial enforcement endorsements (hereinafter – the List);
• whether all documents required by the List have been submitted and whether they have been duly executed;
• whether the documents provided confirm the indisputable nature of the debtor’s debt to the claimant and the delay in fulfilling the obligation;
• whether a dispute has arisen between the interested parties;
• whether the statutory time limit for issuing an enforcement order has expired;
• is the claimant seeking to seize property which is prohibited from seizure under Ukrainian law or which may only be seized on the basis of a court order?

Svarog’s highly qualified lawyers have a proven track record of working with borrowers and creditors. They will help you quickly and effectively, using current case law and their professional experience to halt the enforcement of an enforcement order through the courts, set aside enforcement orders and attachments on property, and recover funds unlawfully collected by the enforcement officer.

Benefits of working with Svarog Law Firm

• Svarog Law Firm’s specialists will analyse your situation in detail and clarify all the details of the issue;
• they will independently gather additional information and necessary evidence for the case;
• they will take an individual approach to resolving the issue, taking the client’s wishes into account;
• they will save you time and money.