Regulation (EU) No 655/2014 of the European Parliament and of the CouncilShow full title

CHAPTER 1 U.K. SUBJECT MATTER, SCOPE AND DEFINITIONS

Article 1 U.K. Subject matter

1. This Regulation establishes a Union procedure enabling a creditor to obtain a European Account Preservation Order (‘Preservation Order’ or ‘Order’) which prevents the subsequent enforcement of the creditor’s claim from being jeopardised through the transfer or withdrawal of funds up to the amount specified in the Order which are held by the debtor or on his behalf in a bank account maintained in a Member State.

2. The Preservation Order shall be available to the creditor as an alternative to preservation measures under national law.

Article 2 U.K. Scope

1. This Regulation applies to pecuniary claims in civil and commercial matters in cross-border cases as defined in Article 3, whatever the nature of the court or tribunal concerned (the ‘court’). It does not extend, in particular, to revenue, customs or administrative matters or to the liability of the State for acts and omissions in the exercise of State authority (‘acta iure imperii’).

2. This Regulation does not apply to:

(a) rights in property arising out of a matrimonial relationship or out of a relationship deemed by the law applicable to such relationship to have comparable effects to marriage;

(b) wills and succession, including maintenance obligations arising by reason of death;

(c) claims against a debtor in relation to whom bankruptcy proceedings, proceedings for the winding-up of insolvent companies or other legal persons, judicial arrangements, compositions, or analogous proceedings have been opened;

(d) social security;

(e) arbitration.

3. This Regulation does not apply to bank accounts which are immune from seizure under the law of the Member State in which the account is maintained nor to accounts maintained in connection with the operation of any system as defined in point (a) of Article 2 of Directive 98/26/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council(1).

4. This Regulation does not apply to bank accounts held by or with central banks when acting in their capacity as monetary authorities.

Article 3 U.K. Cross-border cases

1. For the purposes of this Regulation, a cross-border case is one in which the bank account or accounts to be preserved by the Preservation Order are maintained in a Member State other than:

(a) the Member State of the court seised of the application for the Preservation Order pursuant to Article 6; or

(b) the Member State in which the creditor is domiciled.

2. The relevant moment for determining whether a case is a cross-border case is the date on which the application for the Preservation Order is lodged with the court having jurisdiction to issue the Preservation Order.

Article 4 U.K. Definitions

For the purposes of this Regulation:

(1)

‘bank account’ or ‘account’ means any account containing funds which is held with a bank in the name of the debtor or in the name of a third party on behalf of the debtor;

(2)

‘bank’ means a credit institution as defined in point (1) of Article 4(1) of Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council(2), including branches, within the meaning of point (17) of Article 4(1) of that Regulation, of credit institutions having their head offices inside or, in accordance with Article 47 of Directive 2013/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council(3), outside the Union where such branches are located in the Union;

(3)

‘funds’ means money credited to an account in any currency, or similar claims for the repayment of money, such as money market deposits;

(4)

‘Member State in which the bank account is maintained’ means:

(a)

the Member State indicated in the account’s IBAN (International Bank Account Number); or

(b)

for a bank account which does not have an IBAN, the Member State in which the bank with which the account is held has its head office or, where the account is held with a branch, the Member State in which the branch is located;

(5)

‘claim’ means a claim for payment of a specific amount of money that has fallen due or a claim for payment of a determinable amount of money arising from a transaction or an event that has already occurred, provided that such a claim can be brought before a court;

(6)

‘creditor’ means a natural person domiciled in a Member State or a legal person domiciled in a Member State or any other entity domiciled in a Member State having legal capacity to sue or be sued under the law of a Member State, who or which applies for, or has already obtained, a Preservation Order relating to a claim;

(7)

‘debtor’ means a natural person or a legal person or any other entity having legal capacity to sue or be sued under the law of a Member State, against whom or which the creditor seeks to obtain, or has already obtained, a Preservation Order relating to a claim;

(8)

‘judgment’ means any judgment given by a court of a Member State, whatever the judgment may be called, including a decision on the determination of costs or expenses by an officer of the court;

(9)

‘court settlement’ means a settlement which has been approved by a court of a Member State or concluded before a court of a Member State in the course of proceedings;

(10)

‘authentic instrument’ means a document which has been formally drawn up or registered as an authentic instrument in a Member State and the authenticity of which:

(a)

relates to the signature and the content of the instrument; and

(b)

has been established by a public authority or other authority empowered for that purpose;

(11)

‘Member State of origin’ means the Member State in which the Preservation Order was issued;

(12)

‘Member State of enforcement’ means the Member State in which the bank account to be preserved is maintained;

(13)

‘information authority’ means the authority which a Member State has designated as competent for the purposes of obtaining the necessary information on the debtor’s account or accounts pursuant to Article 14;

(14)

‘competent authority’ means the authority or authorities which a Member State has designated as competent for receipt, transmission or service pursuant to Article 10(2), Article 23(3), (5) and (6), Articles 25(3), 27(2) and 28(3) and the second subparagraph of Article 36(5);

(15)

‘domicile’ means domicile as determined in accordance with Articles 62 and 63 of Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council(4).

(1)

Directive 98/26/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 19 May 1998 on settlement finality in payment and securities settlement systems (OJ L 166, 11.6.1998, p. 45).

(2)

Regulation (EU) No 575/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on prudential requirements for credit institutions and investment firms amending Regulation (EU) No 648/2012 (OJ L 176, 27.6.2013, p. 1).

(3)

Directive 2013/36/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 26 June 2013 on access to the activity of credit institutions and the prudential supervision of credit institutions and investment firms, amending Directive 2002/87/EC and repealing Directives 2006/48/EC and 2006/49/EC (OJ L 176, 27.6.2013, p. 338).

(4)

Regulation (EU) No 1215/2012 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 12 December 2012 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters (OJ L 351, 20.12.2012, p. 1).