The Act Schedule 3 – Expenses of Money Attachment (Introduced by Section 196) Part 10 – Arrestment in Execution and Action of Furthcoming Section 206 – Arrestment in execution
669.Section 206 inserts new Part 3A into the 1987 Act (after section 73). This new Part contains 18 new sections dealing with the diligence of arrestment in execution and the related action of furthcoming.
670.Arrestment is a diligence which allows a creditor to attach a debtor’s moveable property, such as goods or funds (for example, funds held in bank accounts). Arrestment can be used only where these assets are owned by the debtor but are in the possession of a third party. The third party is known as the “arrestee” and is often, in the case of funds, a bank or financial institution. If the assets are in the possession of the debtor rather than a third party then the diligence of attachment (or, in the case of money, money attachment) may be available.
671.Arrestment simply attaches the assets held by an arrestee; it does not transfer ownership of the assets to the creditor. To complete the diligence and have the assets handed over or sold, the creditor must raise an action of furthcoming. In many cases, the formal action of furthcoming is not necessary as the debtor completes a voluntary mandate permitting the arrestee to hand over the assets to the creditor in satisfaction of the debt.
672.The following sections make modifications to certain aspects of the law of arrestment. Those aspects of the law which are unchanged by this Act remain subject to the rules of common law.