Enforcement of awards: third party debt orders

Part 72 of the Civil Procedure Rules sets out the requirements for a Third Party Debt Order. This type of order, previously known as a garnishee order, empowers a judgment creditor to enforce the judgment against a judgment debtor with limited or no assets in England by intercepting a debt owed to the judgment debtor by a third party.

The most important requirements are that the third party is within the jurisdiction of the English courts and the third-party’s debt is situated in England and also owing at the time the Order is made. The last two requirements were the main issues in Hardy Exploration & Production (India) Inc v Government of India [2018] EWHC 1916 (Comm), a judgment of Peter Macdonald Eggers QC, sitting as a High Court Judge. The case shows that an Order will not be made if there is a serious risk that the debtor will be obliged to pay the debt twice.