A guide to the UPC and the UP - Flipbook - Page 398
on the enforcement of money debts, e.g. by seizing and selling his property, seizing money
or attaching a monetary claim against a third person.
Italy
A19-10 In Italy, the defendant/infringer may be liable for compensatory damages and be subject to
injunctive orders. In the event the defendant/infringer does not comply with such measures
issued by the judge, the following actions may be available:
– Non-compliance with an injunction is punishable by civil pecuniary sanctions proportional
to the length of the violation, usually ordered by the judge together with the injunction, to be
paid to the plaintiff/creditor. If the violation is intentional, measures can also include criminal
fines (from a minimum of €103 up to a maximum of €1032, to be paid to the State) or
imprisonment (up to three years); and
– Whenever the interest of the plaintiff/creditor in the performance of an order rests with
a third party without the need to involve the defendant/infringer (e.g. an order to publish
the judgment in a newspaper) the plaintiff/creditor may be allowed by the competent
enforcement court to anticipate the expenses of such performance by the third party,
with the defendant/infringer ultimately being liable for the costs.
A19-11 Any sum due to the plaintiff/creditor, awarded as damages or as a pecuniary sanction,
may be collected through ordinary enforcement proceedings; a bailiff performs a seizure
of goods or credits and the competent enforcement court can enact a sale thereof,
subsequently distributing the proceeds or assigning the credit (judicial garnishment is
the most frequent and effective kind of enforcement proceeding of financial credits in Italy).
The Netherlands
A19-12 In the Netherlands, court orders are subject to monetary penalties, which are set by the court
that orders the injunction. The enforcing party can collect these penalties from the defendant.
The Netherlands is subject to the same Uniform Benelux Treaty with regards to penalties as
Belgium. 112 If an injunction which is enforceable through penalties is violated, the plaintiff
instructs a bailiff to collect the penalties. If damages are awarded by a court and the defendant
does not pay upon request from the plaintiff, the plaintiff also instructs a bailiff to collect those
damages. In both cases this can include seizure of bank accounts and assets and sale of the
assets by the bailiff.
Sweden
A19-13 In Sweden, non-compliance with an injunction is typically sanctioned by imposing fines.
The enforcement authority, when enforcing a court order, may also use other coercive
measures such as detaining the debtor/defendant. 113 This is considered when the
debtor/defendant has not fulfilled a duty of disclosure, i.e. has not complied with the
bailiff’s order.
112
113
See paragraphs A19-01 and A19-02.
ch.2 ss.15 to 17 Enforcement Code (Finland and Sweden).
© Bird & Bird LLP | May 2023
A Guide to the UPC and the UP 388
