Freezing Orders

As anyone who has ever tried to collect a debt knows, there is a big difference between obtaining judgment and obtaining payment.

In difficult cases, one of the ways a debtor can be encouraged to pay is by the creditor obtaining a freezing order against his or her assets: this is a court order which prevents the subject of it from disposing of assets or removing them from the country. It is often described as a ‘nuclear option’, because of the effect it has on the subject of the order, and is only granted in serious cases. If an application for a freezing order turns out to be inappropriate, it is normal for the applicant to bear both its own and the debtor’s legal costs.

To obtain a freezing order, the person owed the money will first have to establish that there is a good case for a sum being due and then show that there is a real risk that the debtor will dissipate the assets over which a freezing order is sought.