EBRD

Transition Report 2012 INTEGRATION ACROSS BORDERS

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Chapter 1

Implementation/enforcement of judgments

Enforcement of court orders remains a significant problem throughout the region. While implementation and enforcement were considered relatively good in Belarus and Georgia, none of the countries assessed scored highly. Some also have very large backlogs of unenforced decisions: in Ukraine, for example, the number is estimated at 2 million. Moldova, Russia and Ukraine have been respondents to a large number of cases brought by businesses in the European Court of Human Rights alleging a breach of the right to a fair trial because of a failure by the state parties to ensure implementation of court decisions.

A particular problem identified in the cases reviewed related to legislative shortcomings in the enforcement process. For example, in Russia there remains a need for stronger provisions, such as freeze orders or security for costs, preventing respondents to commercial cases diluting or hiding assets during litigation. Another issue was a lack of clarity in the text of the judicial decisions. In Tajikistan judgment orders in cases "undoing" privatisations did not envisage and deal with consequential and financial issues related to the invalidation (for example, a change in the value of the privatised property). Poorly crafted orders can simply be impossible to execute.

A major problem in many countries, and particularly Armenia and Azerbaijan, was the poor functioning of the government agency responsible for enforcement of court decisions. Thematic concerns arising in this context included: low salaries and high turnover of personnel; heavy workloads; bailiffs allegedly delaying enforcement while seeking bribes from judgment creditors; lack of personal liability of bailiffs for non-performance of their duties; poor professional training; and the need for court powers to punish recalcitrant judgment debtors (for example, through fines for contempt of court).

However, measures are being taken in several countries to address these issues. In Moldova the bailiff service has been further professionalised, with incentives provided for good performance. In Georgia and Kazakhstan a dual system of private and government bailiffs that aims to raise enforcement standards has been established. Armenia has introduced statutory time limits for the enforcement of court decisions and Azerbaijan has passed laws substantially increasing the penalties for failure to perform court judgments.

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Annual Report 2012
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pdf German
pdf Russian

Financial Report 2012
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pdf French
pdf German
pdf Russian

pdf Donor Report 2013

pdf Sustainability Report 2012