Enforcement of Debt Collection to Extend to Debtors' Income, Then Assets: Proposal from 'Past' Newspaper

'Past' newspaper reports: 'The Ministry of Justice proposes amendments and additions to the law on the 'Enforcement of Judicial Acts'. Under the current regulation of this law, enforcement on a debtor's income is only applicable if the debtor does not own property (except for claims subject to debt collection of up to 200,000 drams) or is subject to enforcement on regular payments. In other words, for claims exceeding 200,000 drams, the debtor's property is subject to enforcement (including compulsory realization) even when the debtor has sufficient income to fulfill the demand within as short a time as possible.

The draft law anticipates the ability to extend enforcement to the debtor's income first, regardless of whether the debtor has property rights. For instance, if there are no monetary resources subject to enforcement, and the debtor's salary is sufficient to settle the claim in a maximum of six months, enforcement can be applied there. This regulation, while not overlooking the importance of enforcing acts subject to execution, creates an additional guarantee for the protection of the debtor's social situation since enforcement on income already serves as a basis for not carrying out actions leading to the compulsory realization of the debtor's property.

Thus, the proposal suggests that after enforcement on a debtor's income, the total of the debtor's income should not be less than the legally established minimum wage. Currently, up to fifty percent, and in some cases even seventy-five percent, can be withheld from the debtor's salary and equivalent payments, resulting in the debtor potentially being deprived of the minimum means for subsistence.

The proposed regulation provides an additional safeguard in ensuring the social guarantees of the debtor. Emphasizing the legal interests of the creditor, it has been established that enforcing on a debtor's salary and other income does not negate the imposition of bans on the debtor's property or the lifting of existing bans.'

For more details, refer to today's issue of the newspaper.