Luxembourg, 2016-08-01

The Luxembourgian lien provides a wide range of garnishments mainly regulated in the Code of Civil Procedure (“Nouveau code de procédure civile”).

The long list of types of garnishments shows its broad scope of application. This applies for claims the garnishments compromise as well as for goods to be seized.

In the latter case, it is further distinguished between a garnishment of moveable goods, a garnishment of real estate property and a garnishment of a monetary claim at a third-party debtor.

1. Garnishment of movable goods

1.1. The security garnishment (“saisie conservatoire commerciale”) is only subjected to commercial debts and is applied whenever rapid action is required. It allows to make movable physical goods which are in the debtor’s possession unavailable until the enforcement order is obtained.

1.2. The repossession (“saisie-exécution”) is a proceeding which allows the creditor to sell movable goods owned by the debtor and to keep the yield from the sale.

1.3. There is a particular form of repossession in tenancy law: the garnishment of goods (“saisie-gagerie”). In case of the tenant’s bankruptcy, the landlord is allowed to seize his furniture.

1.4. Another example of a garnishment provided for by law is the garnishment due to a right of retention (“saisie-revendication”). This prevents the disposal of a holder’s object for which the creditor raises a claim. This garnishment is often applied in leased goods.

2. Garnishment of real estate property

2.1. The garnishment of immovable goods („saisie immobilière”) is a legal enforcement measure which allows a creditor to mandate a property owned by his debtor to the justice in order to sell it (normally by auction). The creditor utilizes the (auction) proceeds for fulfillment of his claims.

2.2. In the field of property financing accomplished with mortgaging one can often find a specific contractual term (“clause de voie parée”) which grants the mortgage creditor of the proceedings provided for by law the right of free sale of the seized property under specific conditions.

This procedure is not performed by a judicial instance but only by a bailiff and a notary. Therefore, the duration is much shorter than in the garnishment of immovable goods.

3. The garnishment of a monetary claim at a third-party debtor

This basically, concerns the garnishment at a third-party debtor who himself has liabilities in favor of the debtor, for example at a bank or a notary.

The creditor has to apply for a court order containing the name of the debtor and the third party debtor. The garnishment is served to the third party debtor who then is not allowed to pass the owed amount of money on. The garnishment is further notified to the debtor, who is entitled to defend himself in court upon his own request. If there are no valid objections, the garnishment will then be declared as valid.

The Luxembourgian legislation also provides specific garnishments at third party debtors in different cases, for example for wage garnishment and attachment of salary (“saisie-arrêt sur salaires”) or for the garnishment of pension (“saisie des rentes”).

Author: Anne-Marie Schmit, Attorney at law

ETUDE ANNE-MARIE SCHMIT