A bailiff can only proceed with an executory attachment if he has an enforcement order.
Executory attachment is an attachment which is placed under an enforcement order; therefore an executory attachment is a means to actualize a person’s right (for example by public auction of the seized goods of the debtor, after which the purchase price is used to satisfy the claim of the creditor), which has already been registered in an enforcement order.
Which orders are enforceable, is provided in the Dutch Code of Civil Procedure.
Article 430 – 1. The execution copies of judgements in the Netherlands, of decisions by the Dutch court and of deeds executed in the Netherlands as well as other documents designated by law as enforcement order, can be completely executed in the Netherlands.
2. They must carry the following words in the head: In the name of the King.
3. They cannot be executed until after service on the party against whom the enforcement will be addressed.
For execution of the order it is required that it is drawn up in an enforceable format. Such a certified true copy (or extract) of a court judgement or deed is called an execution copy, and the original is called the single original copy. The handover of an execution copy authorizes the bailiff to the execution (by Art. 34 Civil Procedure) and enables him to identify himself.
In rare cases, the right to immediate execution exists; this means: being entitled to claim without this being based on an enforcement order. The execution will then directly be based on a statutory provision.
Immediate execution is sometimes described as “execution without an enforcement order“.
The right of immediate execution rests, among others, with the lienholder (by Art. 3:248 of the Dutch Civil Code) and the mortgagee (by article 3:268 Dutch Civil Code).
The other requirements for execution, for example the deadlines and other procedural requirements to be observed, shall be explained when we discuss the various types of attachments in the following e-sheets.
