The Civil Procedure Rules 1998

Oral examination of debtor

Rule 3—(1) Where a person has obtained a judgment or order in a county court for the payment of money or where an order has been made under rule 12 of this Order, the appropriate court may, on an application made by the judgment creditor without notice being served on any other party, order the debtor or, if the debtor is a body corporate, an officer thereof to attend before the court officer and be orally examined as to the debtor’s means of satisfying the judgment or order, and may also order the person to be examined to produce at the time and place appointed for the examination any books or documents in his possession relevant to the debtor’s means.

(1A) An application under paragraph (1) shall certify the amount of money remaining due under the judgment, order or award (as that word is defined by rule 12 (1) of this Order).

(2) The appropriate court for the purposes of paragraph (1) shall be the court for the district in which the person to be examined (or, if there are more such persons than one, any of them) resides or carries on business.

(3) The order shall be served in the manner required for service of the notice of the day of hearing in accordance with Order 3, rule 6 except that Order 3, rule 6(11) will not apply.

(4) If the person to be examined fails to attend at the time and place fixed for the examination, the court may adjourn the examination and make a further order for his attendance and any such order shall direct that any payments made thereafter shall be paid into court and not direct to the judgment creditor.

(5) Nothing in Order 29, rule 1 (2) to (7) shall apply to an order made under paragraph (4), but Order 27, rules 7B and 8, shall apply, with the necessary modifications, as they apply to orders made under section 23 (1) of the Attachment of Earnings Act 1971(1) except that for a period of 5 days specified in paragraph (1) of Order 27, rule 8 there shall be substituted a period of 10 days.

(5A) Where an examination has been adjourned, the judgment creditor, if requested to do so by the person to be examined not less than 7 days before the day fixed for the adjourned examination shall pay to him a sum reasonably sufficient to cover his expenses in travelling to and from the court unless such a sum was paid to him at the time of service of the order for oral examination.

(5B) The judgment creditor shall, not more than 4 days before the day fixed for the adjourned examination, file a certificate stating either that no request has been made under paragraph (5A) or that a sum has been paid in accordance with such a request.

(5C) Where the person to be examined has made a request under paragraph (5A), he shall not be committed to prison under Order 29, rule 1 (1) for having failed to attend at the time and place fixed for the adjourned examination unless the judgment creditor has paid to him a sum reasonably sufficient to cover the travelling expenses before the day fixed for the adjourned examination.

(6) CPR rule 34.8 (evidence by deposition) shall apply with the necessary modifications, to an examination under this rule as it applies to an examination under that Part save that CPR rule 34.8(6)(b) shall not apply.

(7) Nothing in this rule shall be construed as preventing the court, before deciding whether to make an order under paragraph (1), from giving the person to be examined an opportunity of making a statement in writing or a witness statement or affidavit as to the debtor’s means.

(1)

1971 c. 32; section 23(1) was amended by the Administration of Justice Act 1982 (c. 53), section 53(2).