On April 4, 2024, His Highness the Emir ratified Law No. 4 of 2024 on the Issuance of the Judicial Enforcement Law ("Judicial Enforcement Law"), which was published in the Official Gazette on May 19, 2024. The law introduces new provisions to regulate matters that were not covered under Law No. 13 of 1990 on the Issuance of the Civil and Commercial Procedure Law, which was concerned with regulating enforcement procedures before the courts in its third book. The Judicial Enforcement Law addresses several issues that were not addressed in the enforcement provisions of the Civil and Commercial Procedure Law No. 13 of 1990 ("CCPL").
One of the most significant changes introduced by the Judicial Enforcement Law is the regulation of enforceable titles, which were defined in Article 362 of the CCPL as judgments and orders issued by the courts, settlement agreements recorded in court minutes or annexed thereto, and official documents granted the status of enforceable titles by law. An enforceable title is a document that entitles the creditor to enforce compulsorily their rights against the debtor. These titles act as a means to guarantee the enforcement of the judgment, in which the concerned parties must comply with and execute the procedures outlined therein. Under the Judicial Enforcement Law, the regulation of enforceable titles is covered in 22 articles (Articles 5 – 27) in Chapter III under the title "Enforcement of Enforceable Titles".
The Judicial Enforcement Law adds new types of documents that are characterised as enforceable titles. These documents permit direct enforcement without the need for interested parties to undertake litigation, or to obtain a court judgment for initiating enforcement procedures to recover their rights. Article 6 of the law sets out the conditions that must be met for these documents to be considered enforceable titles, allowing their holders to initiate enforcement procedures accordingly.
According to Article 6, the types of enforceable titles are as follows:
- Judgments and orders issued by the courts.
- Arbitral awards.
- Foreign judgments, orders, and official documents.
- Official documents granted the status of enforceable titles by law.
- Certified settlement agreements and minutes.
- Registered or certified lease contracts by the competent authority.
Interestingly, cheques and registered lease contracts as now enforceable titles. This represents a significant legal development in the debt recovery processes, as a cheque is a common means of facilitating payments and money transfers. Previously, cheques, as instruments of payment, were the subject of numerous legal disputes in cases where the full or partial amount of the cheque was not collected. The beneficiary often had to undergo a lengthy legal process to obtain a court ruling that would compel the drawer to pay the debt represented by the cheque.
Now, based on the provisions of Article 6, read in conjunction with Articles 23, 24, and 26 of the Judicial Enforcement Law, a creditor can now use an unpaid cheque as an enforceable title, submitting it directly to the Enforcement Court without the need to resort to substantive courts to obtain a judgment that would then make it an enforceable title for the creditor to execute. Articles 23 and 24 of the new law outline the conditions and procedures necessary to use a cheque as an enforceable title and to take enforcement actions based on it. Article 23 of the law states that the cheque must be endorsed by the bank on which it is drawn with a statement indicating insufficient funds or a lack of funds. Once the cheque is endorsed by the drawee bank, the beneficiary may initiate enforcement procedures directly by submitting a request to the competent Enforcement Judge.
Article 24 of the Judicial Enforcement Law specifies the documents that must be attached to the enforcement application, including the original cheque or a copy thereof, along with an official statement from the drawee bank indicating insufficient funds or the inability to cash the cheque, provided that the cheque is neither endorsed nor transferred.
Article 26 also requires that the cheque's issuance date must not exceed three years at the time the enforcement application is submitted.
Therefore, the conditions for considering a cheque as an enforceable title can be summarised as follows:
- It must be endorsed by the drawee bank as non-payable due to insufficient funds.
- It must not be endorsed or transferred.
- No more than three years should have elapsed since the date of issuance when submitting the enforcement application.
On the other hand, Article 6 of the Judicial Enforcement Law also added registered lease contracts as enforceable titles. Article 27 of the law outlines the conditions that must be met for a lease contract to be considered an enforceable title. The contract must be registered in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 4 of 2008 on the Leasing of Real Estate, which requires, in Article 3, that the lease contract be registered within two months from the date of its conclusion. Alternatively, it must be certified by the competent authority that it is not subject to the provisions of the said Real Estate Leasing Law. Additionally, limited requests can be made by the enforcement applicant to effect eviction from the property due to the expiration of the lease term only. This provision implies that other claims that may arise from the lease contract remain subject to the procedures outlined in the law, which require the concerned parties to obtain an enforceable title to recover claims arising from the lease contract.
The enforcement of judgments and orders issued in a foreign country must be enforced under the conditions stipulated in the law of the country in which the judgment or order was issued, subject to the principal of reciprocity, as provided in Article 13 of the law. This provision effectively restricts the enforcement of foreign judgments and orders to the condition of reciprocity, potentially rendering it difficult or impossible to enforce judgments issued by a foreign country that lacks reciprocal enforcement rules. Additionally, Article 15 of the law requires that an official Arabic translation accompany the enforcement application for these judgments and orders.
Moreover, the Judicial Enforcement Law contains specific provisions concerning official documents granted the status of enforceable titles by law, stipulating in Articles 21 and 22 that such documents must be certified by the competent authority that issued them, and that the action required to be taken or the amount to be paid under these documents must be clear and specified. The enforcement request must be accompanied by the original documents or certified copies thereof, along with an official statement from the competent authority. In addition, Article 25 addresses the regulation of settlement minutes, requiring that they be certified by the competent court or any other competent authority for certification, and that the action required to be taken or the amount to be paid be clear and specified.
Based on the foregoing provisions of the Judicial Enforcement Law, the close relationship between this law and the protection of rights arising from judicial proceedings and their enforcement becomes apparent, particularly as the recognition of cheques and lease contracts as enforceable titles aims to enhance and improve the efficiency of the justice system and ensure the effective and swift enforcement of judicial rulings.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
