Debt enforcement proceedings

The debt enforcement procedure ( dunning procedure ) is used by the creditor in Liechtenstein to collect claims on money or other justifiable items by issuing a conditional payment order (Section 577 ZPO ).

The debt instigation procedure enables a monetary claim to be enforced without filing a lawsuit, i.e. without a judgment . The procedure is initiated without checking whether the claimant is actually entitled to payment; the debtor is not heard before the payment order is issued (Section 581 (1) ZPO). The debt enforcement procedure is thus a quick and cost-saving alternative to civil litigation . The aim of the procedure is to get a debtor to pay. At the end of the procedure there is the enforcement order. This is an enforcement order by which the creditor 's monetary claim can be enforced.

designation

With the entry into force of the Civil Procedure Code and the jurisdiction norm on June 1, 1913, the provisions of Sections 1 to 5 of the Act of October 9, 1865, LGBl. 1865 No. 5/1, relating to debt operations in the Principality of Liechtenstein also expired. The relevant procedure was then referred to as the "dunning procedure", as in Austria.

With Art 1 para. 2 no. 2 of the addendum law of May 26, 1924 to the jurisdiction norm, civil procedure code and their introductory law, the procedure was renamed "debt instigation". The term dunning procedure is still used in Liechtenstein law and in practice alongside the term debt enforcement proceedings.

Jurisdiction

The regional court in Vaduz is factually and locally responsible for issuing the payment order .

procedure

Written Application

The debt instigation procedure can be initiated by written or oral submissions (Section 580 (1) ZPO). The application can only be made if the debtor is in default and his domicile or stay in Germany is known (§ 578, 581 ZPO).

The request of the obligee to issue a payment order is made with the following information (§ 580 ZPO):

Name of the creditor, status or trade and place of residence;
Name of the debtor, status or trade and place of residence;
Amount of the claim and the legal basis thereof and, if the claim consists of several items, the amount of each individual item and its legal basis.

If the claim is not money, but has other justifiable items as its object, the creditor must indicate in the request the amount that he is willing to accept instead (Section 580 (3) ZPO).

Issue of the payment order

The payment order must contain:

Inscription: payment order;
Name of the creditor, status or trade and place of residence;
Name of the debtor, status or trade and place of residence;
Instruction to the debtor to correct the claim including the requested interest within 14 days after delivery of the payment order to avoid execution and to correct the costs of the payment order, if its replacement was requested in the application, in the amount determined by the judge or against the payment order To raise an objection;
The remark that the payment order can only be overridden by raising the objection.
If the claim is not about money, but about other reasonable items, the debtor is to be released in the payment order instead of paying the requested items in cash in the amount specified in the request.

Limited review by the court

The district court checks the application for formal correctness and whether the assertion of the claim in the dunning procedure is admissible. The application itself does not contain any justification. After the formal examination, the court issues the payment order.

Fees, delivery

The judicial costs of the debt instigation are already incurred when the application is received by the regional court. They depend on the amount of the claim.

These costs are added directly to the main claim and must be borne by the debtor if the main claim is known and he has not contradicted it. A later withdrawal of the application does not release the applicant from the obligation to pay.

The payment order is to be served on the debtor and, if it is directed against several debtors, on each of them in accordance with the provisions on the service of claims.

Objection to the payment order

In order to raise the objection, it is sufficient to make an oral or written declaration by the debtor to the regional court that he is raising an objection to the payment order. A reason for the objection is not required (§ 584 ZPO).

The debtor does in time of dispute, the debt driving process as a normal recognition process continued and the number command loses its force (§ 585 Abs. 1 ZPO). If the debtor only partially disputes the claim, he must specify the exact amount in dispute, otherwise the objection applies to the entire claim. Foreclosure can be requested for the undisputed amount. The payment order also loses its force if the objection is raised against a payment order issued against several debtors because of the same claim by only one of the debtors (Section 585 (1) ZPO).

The creditor and the debtor must be informed of the timely objection (Section 586 (1) ZPO).

An objection raised late must be rejected with reference to the expired period (Section 586 (2) ZPO).

Effect of the request to issue a payment order

The request for the issuance of the payment order generally has the effect of a lawsuit (Section 589 (1) ZPO)

Failure to object

If the debtor has neither made payment nor raised an objection in good time, the obligee must be granted execution on the basis of the payment order (Section 591 (1) ZPO).

swell

↑ § 581 Abs. 3 ZPO: There is no legal remedy against the issuance of the payment order, against the refusal of the appeal within eight days .
↑ LGBl 9/1924.
↑ § 579 ZPO: The conditional payment order cannot be issued against persons whose whereabouts are unknown . This is a major limitation compared to the comparable dunning procedure in Germany
↑ In Germany referred to as a dunning notice .
↑ The costs of issuing the conditional payment order are to be borne by the obligee if an objection has been raised against the same in good time, and the reimbursement of the costs of the objection, if this is requested by the debtor, in the amount to be determined by the judge ( Section 587 (1) ZPO).
↑ In this case, according to Section 587 of the German Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO) , the mentioned costs of debt enforcement proceedings and part of the costs of the legal dispute can be recognized . Persons who raise an objection on behalf of the debtor are not obliged to identify themselves with a power of attorney for this intervention. However, if a power of attorney has not been submitted, the judicial settlement must be served on the client himself (Section 592 (4) ZPO).
↑ However, this request has no effect on the justification of the place of jurisdiction for the counterclaim and the main proceedings. If the payment order becomes invalid due to the raising of the objection, the statute of limitations is to be regarded as suspended until the objection is raised (Section 589 (2) ZPO).

[1] § 581 Abs. 3 ZPO: There is no legal remedy against the issuance of the payment order, against the refusal of the appeal within eight days .

[2] LGBl 9/1924.

[3] § 579 ZPO: The conditional payment order cannot be issued against persons whose whereabouts are unknown . This is a major limitation compared to the comparable dunning procedure in Germany

[4] In Germany referred to as a dunning notice .

[5] The costs of issuing the conditional payment order are to be borne by the obligee if an objection has been raised against the same in good time, and the reimbursement of the costs of the objection, if this is requested by the debtor, in the amount to be determined by the judge ( Section 587 (1) ZPO).

[6] In this case, according to Section 587 of the German Code of Civil Procedure (ZPO) , the mentioned costs of debt enforcement proceedings and part of the costs of the legal dispute can be recognized . Persons who raise an objection on behalf of the debtor are not obliged to identify themselves with a power of attorney for this intervention. However, if a power of attorney has not been submitted, the judicial settlement must be served on the client himself (Section 592 (4) ZPO).

[7] However, this request has no effect on the justification of the place of jurisdiction for the counterclaim and the main proceedings. If the payment order becomes invalid due to the raising of the objection, the statute of limitations is to be regarded as suspended until the objection is raised (Section 589 (2) ZPO).