Compulsory enforcement law deals with the compulsory enforcement of private or public law claims by state power.

Only the state is responsible for using force to enforce private claims. Vigilante justice is only permitted within narrow limits (e.g. § 229 BGB). In private law enforcement law, compulsory enforcement takes place on the basis of an enforceable title. The creditor obtains this in compulsory enforcement law, for example, by filing a lawsuit in court and obtaining a legally binding final judgment (§ 704 ZPO). However, there are also other enforceable titles in compulsory enforcement law, such as the enforcement notice or a notarial document; a list of the enforceable titles can be found in Section 794 ZPO.

The most common form in private law enforcement law is enforcement due to monetary claims. Enforcement due to monetary claims can be carried out against the movable assets (§§ 803 ff. ZPO) or the immovable assets (§§ 864 ff. ZPO) of the judgment debtor. In compulsory enforcement law, the bailiff, the enforcement court or the trial court of first instance can be responsible. However, private law enforcement can also be carried out, for example, to enforce an act/omission of the judgment debtor (§§ 883 ff. ZPO).

Zu den wesentlichen Themen im privatrechtlichen Zwangsvollstreckungsrecht gehören unter anderem:

  • Seizure
  • Garnishment Lien and Entanglement
  • Seizure exemption limits
  • Foreclosure
  • Transfer decision
  • Interim injunction/interim arrest
  • Legal remedies against compulsory enforcement (e.g. third-party objection action, reminder or enforcement counterclaim)

Private enforcement law is regulated primarily in Book 8 of the ZPO. At EU level, Brussels I Regulation (EC) No. 44/2001 must be observed in particular in enforcement law.

In public enforcement law, enforcement is usually carried out on the basis of an administrative act as a title. Unlike most private enforcement law, the authority does not need to carry out any discovery proceedings. The public enforcement law is regulated in particular in the Federal Administrative Enforcement Act (VwVG) or the respective federal states (e.g. HmbVwVG, VwVG NRW).

On the following pages we will try to provide you with as much information as possible about the basic principles of compulsory enforcement law.

We also recommend the following pages on the subject of compulsory enforcement law: