by Matthew Austin February-08-2017 in Commercial & Business, Dispute Resolution & Litigation
The European Account Preservation Order (EAPO) is now available to creditors within the EU, having come into force on 18 January 2017. It does not apply in either the UK or Denmark.
The EAPO is a potentially powerful way in which a creditor in one EU country can freeze the bank accounts of a debtor in other EU countries. It is designed to prevent the dissipation of assets by a debtor before the creditor has had the opportunity to take steps to put the assets beyond creditors’ reach. The EAPO is a welcome tool in the context of high value cross-border debt recovery.
The application for an EAPO can be made even before the creditor has commenced judgment proceedings against the debtor in the state in which the creditor is domiciled. It is also available during the currency of any such legal proceedings and after judgment has been given in favour of the creditor. The preservative effect of an order made before legal proceedings are even commenced is novel in this context and potentially very useful.
The way in which an application for an EAPO will work is set out in some detail in the relevant EU Regulation (655/2014). The Regulation also sets out how the EAPO will be enforced in the recipient banks.
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About the Author
Matthew Austin
Matthew is a partner in the Commercial & Business team and has considerable expertise in a range of practice areas, having acted for Irish and International clients in domestic and multi-jurisdictional issues. Matthew has advised in civil and administrative law disputes and in regulatory and advisory matters including insolvency/restructuring, IP, defamation and media law, competition and consumer protection and data protection.