High Court Judgments
High Court Judgments
Since April 6th 2006, a record of High Court Judgments, relating to
monetary judgments made in the High Court Chancery Division, the
Queen’s Bench Division and the Admiralty and Commercial courts in
England & Wales, has been held by RTL as part of the Register of
Judgments, Orders and Fines.
Judgments are registered on default whilst defended cases, and
county court judgments transferred to High Court for enforcement,
are registered upon enforcement. In the Admiralty and Commercial
court, where judgment has been registered in a foreign currency,
the registration will be converted to £ Sterling at the exchange
rate applicable on the judgment date.
Information appearing on the Register includes the name and address
of the debtor, the date and amount of judgment, the name of the High
Court Division or district registry and the claim number, plus satisfaction
details once RTL has been notified by the court. Judgments registered
against individuals include dates of birth where this is known and, for
all judgments, the provision of a post-code is mandatory unless leave of
the court is obtained.
Payment
If the judgment is fully repaid after one calendar month from the date
of judgment and evidence is provided to the court who will notify RTL
when the entry will be marked as ‘satisfied’ on the Register where it
will remain for the statutory six year period from the date of judgment.
If fully repaid within one calendar month from the date of judgment
and evidence is provided to the court, the record can be removed from
the Register. The defendant can also apply to the court for a Certificate
of Satisfaction or a Certificate of Cancellation, whichever is
appropriate, enclosing the court fee of £16 (cheque/postal order
payable to HMCTS). Part payments of a judgment debt are not recorded on the Register.
Removal
Details of High Court judgments remain on the Register for a statutory
period of six years from the date of judgment, unless set-aside or
reversed by the court, or the amount is fully repaid within one calendar
month from the date of judgment when the court will notify RTL that
the entry should be removed from the Register.
If application is made to set-aside the judgment, a court fee of £275
is required (cheque/postal order payable to HMCTS). Any defendant experiencing
difficulty in paying court fees should ask court staff for advice.
Amendment
If a defendant feels that details of a registration are inaccurate, a query should be raised directly with the relevant court who will investigate and, if appropriate, send any amendment to RTL. Upon receipt of their response, the Register will be amended by the end of the next working day.
General
Details of High Court judgments held on the Register, and any subsequent
amendments, may be passed to commercial organisations and may then be
supplied to credit grantors and others seeking information regarding
an individual’s financial standing.
The judgment case number must be quoted to the court when any query is
raised, as the court needs this to locate the item. The Register does not
contain details of the claimant. This information is available
only from the relevant High Court.