The Law of 17 May 2017 concerning the implementation of the Regulation (UE) No 655/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 15 May 2014 establishing a European Account Preservation Order (“EAPO”, see our newsletter Q1 2017) in civil and commercial matters came into force on 27 May 2017.
According to the EU Regulation, a creditor may now freeze multiple bank accounts of his debtor that are located in several Member States with a single EAPO. Therefore the creditor no longer needs to obtain a court order in each Member State in which he would like to freeze an account.
On the one hand the Law of 17 May 2017 rules the revocation and the limitation of an EAPO in Luxembourg.
The Law of 17 May 2017 modified the Luxembourg civil procedure (by introducing the article 685-5 of the Nouveau Code de Procédure Civile) and the amended law of 23 December 1998 concerning the “Commission de surveillance du secteur financier” (“CSSF”).
Under the new article 685-5 of the Nouveau Code de Procédure Civile, the creditor should file its request for an EAPO before the “Juge de paix” for a debt under an amount of EUR 10.000 and before the “Président devant le Tribunal d’arrondissement” for a debt exceeding EUR 10.000.
In case of a refusal by the jurisdictions to deliver the EAPO, the creditor can respectively lodge an appeal before the “Président du Tribunal d’arrondissement” or before the Court of appeal within a period of 30 days.
A claim in revocation or in limitation is also possible for the debtor before the “Juge de paix” or respectively the “Président du Tribunal d’arrondissement” both acting as judge sitting in summary matters. It is possible to lodge an appeal of the decisions of the “Juge de paix” or the “Président du Tribunal d’arrondissement” within a period of 15 days.
The summary matters proceedings and the short delays provided in the Luxembourg Law seem to be in accordance with the aims of this new European Union procedure allowing,
in cross-border cases, for the preservation, in an efficient and speedy way, of funds held in bank accounts.
On the other hand, the Law of 17 May 2017 designates the CSSF, as the designated information authority, from which a creditor can obtain information to identify the debtors bank accounts in Luxembourg.
