The judicial power of the Russian Federation, in simple terms, consists of decision-making judges and ensuring the full enforcement of these decisions by bailiffs. By obeying the Constitution of the Russian Federation, both judges and bailiffs serve one purpose - the restoration of lost justice.
What are they?
The bailiff is an official, a representative of the judiciary, executing its decisions and endowed with broad powers. In addition to collecting material values by court decisions, bailiffs perform a number of functions:
- guarding courthouses and screening visitors at the entrance and exit;
- implementation of the drive of the defendant to the trial;
- assisting the bodies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs in the search for missing people or hiding from justice at the federal and regional levels;
- expulsion from the state of stateless persons and foreign citizens illegally residing in its territory;
- the removal of children from dysfunctional families by court order and their delivery to orphanages;
- search and return to parents or special institutions of illegally detained children.
Bailiffs act as part of orders from higher authorities, which are accompanied by instructions. Their functions are carried out independently or with the involvement of other structures (Ministry of Internal Affairs, social institutions and departments).
FSSP
To ensure the enforcement of decisions of courts of general jurisdiction, as well as the Arbitration Court and other authorized bodies of power, the Federal Service of Bailiffs (FSSP) was established. It is headed by a director - the chief bailiff of the Russian Federation, who is appointed to this position and dismissed from it by the president of the country.
The fulfillment of assigned duties is carried out directly by the FSSP or through the territorial bodies that are available in each subject of the Russian Federation (territory, region, republic). These include district, inter-district and specialized departments of the FSSP. Each department has a territory on which it operates, which in legal practice is called the "district of bailiffs".
The activity of the FSSP is subject to the Constitution of the Russian Federation and is regulated by two main articles: No. 118 of the Federal Law “On Bailiffs” and No. 229 “On Enforcement Proceedings”.
Who can become a bailiff?
Despite the low salaries of federal bailiffs, coupled with the high demands placed on them by higher authorities, the position often becomes the beginning for career advancement both within the FSSP and in other areas of legal activity. It is for this reason that many novice lawyers choose this position. Senior students of law faculties, taking the post of bailiff, receive practice in the learning process.
A huge number of enforcement proceedings, which the SSP cannot cope with, facilitates employment because of the lack of competition, but it is not possible to become a bailiff for the following five categories of applicants:
- A citizen of another state.
- Age under 21 years.
- Persons registered in narcological and neuropsychiatric dispensaries.
- Convicted in the past (even with a cleared criminal record).
- The presence of close relatives with a criminal record.
Bailiffs are government officials who are required to take the oath. Its text is approved by the director of the FSSP and is part of the discipline.
Entering the ranks of the Federal Bailiff Service, swearing allegiance to the people of Russia and the Law, I solemnly swear:
- Unquestioningly comply with the Constitution of the Russian Federation, laws and international obligations of the Russian Federation.
- To persistently and honestly protect the rights of citizens, the interests of society and the state.
- It is worthy to endure the difficulties associated with the performance of official duties.
- Strictly observe discipline, the established order of official relationships.
- Keep state and other secrets protected by law, value their professional honor, protect and develop the best traditions of the Federal Bailiff Service.
Serving Russia, serving the Law!
When does the bailiff work?
Based on a positive court decision to recover material resources, the debtor is given time (14 days) to fulfill his debt obligations. Another outcome of the process may be the provision of installments to the debtor for a time determined by the court. To obtain additional time, the defendant must write a petition listing the good reasons that serve as the basis for an installment plan.
If, after a certain time, the debtor has not executed the court decision or not fully executed, the party that has won the case (plaintiff) has the right to contact the office of the court that issued the decision with a statement on the issuance of the writ of execution.
There is another option when the plaintiff sends the application by mail and asks the court to forward the writ of execution to the MTP also by mail. This significantly delays the execution of obligations by the debtor in time, which is not in the interests of the plaintiff, but is suitable for legal entities suing each other, or when the debtor lives far away.
The plaintiff must deliver this document to the MTP in the area where the debtor is located and write a statement on the initiation of enforcement proceedings. Only after receiving a writ of execution and a statement from the injured party, the bailiff begins enforcement proceedings - collecting material resources from the debtor.
Information for the plaintiff
Getting a court order and initiating enforcement proceedings by a bailiff is not a victory. This is not even half the battle. Usually the most difficult part is debt collection. Often, from the moment the enforcement proceedings are instituted until the debtor actually fulfills his obligations, years pass or this never happens.
According to the current legislation of the Russian Federation, the presence of unfulfilled debt obligations is classified by the Code of Civil Procedure, but not criminal. This means that the debtor is not threatened with imprisonment, and operational investigative methods are actually conducted by the bailiff not in relation to the debtor himself, but in relation to his property (these methods will be discussed below).
In the most favorable circumstances, bypassing the MTP, you can take the writ of execution to the accounting department at the debtor's place of work or to the bank in which the debtor has an account. Accounting will begin to transfer to the requisites specified by the requisitioner 50% of the defendant's salary, and the bank will write off the necessary amount of debt.
In the absence of income from the debtor and property, the bailiff draws up an act on the impossibility of collecting funds. Again, with the same writ of execution, the plaintiff may apply to the MTP after six months. If the act of impossibility of recovery is drawn up again, then again it will be possible to apply to the MTP in six months. The cycle can go on indefinitely.
Work with the debtor
Debt collection takes place in two stages:
- A meeting with the debtor in order to inform him of the existing debt and determine the schedule of payments.
- Forced collection - the transition to this stage occurs after ignoring the bailiff's requirements. This is the most frequent and probable outcome.
An example of compulsory collection is the submission of a writ of execution to the accounting department at the place of work to transfer funds in favor of the collector.The size of transfers is up to 50% of the salary. In exceptional cases, up to 70%. At the same time, the rest of the salary cannot be less than the subsistence level.
When the place of stay of the debtor is unknown, he does not answer the contacts (phone, mail), the bailiffs of the region begin the search for his property. Having the right to process the personal data of the debtor, they send requests to the following departments in order to identify the property:
- STSI - the presence or absence of a vehicle;
- tax inspection - the place of work of the debtor is determined;
- BTI - provides information on the property owned by the debtor;
- banks - accounts are revealed from which bailiffs have the right to arrest and transfer funds in favor of the claimant;
- mobile operators - determine in which region the wanted one is located, and the funds on the SIM card account can also be debited.
In practice, when it comes to small amounts of debt, the debtor and bailiff are rare. Most often, a salary is collected before full repayment of the debt. If the debtor works unofficially or does not work anywhere at all, it is most likely that the bailiff will come to his home to list and seize the property. This may have undesirable consequences for those living with him on the same living space for the reason that their property may be arrested. You have to prove through the court that it does not belong to the debtor.
Property Description
To ensure the enforcement of a court decision on debt, one of the effective measures of enforcement is the identification of property with its subsequent sale. The procedure is legalized by Article 80 of the Federal Law No. 229 "On Enforcement Proceedings":
- the bailiff’s visit to the debtor can take place from 6:00 to 22:00 local time;
- the bailiff (executor) must be in uniform, must present a service certificate;
- the inventory procedure should be carried out in the presence of two adult witnesses;
- the debtor has the right to challenge some witnesses and invite the bailiffs to invite others (usually this is the case with collectors who appeared with the bailiffs);
- on the identified property, to which the bailiff has the right to recover, an act of arrest is drawn up; the bailiff independently determines its value, which is recorded in this document.
From this moment, the property of the debtor no longer belongs to him, but may be in his home. For its safety, the debtor is responsible. The sale of property can be arranged by the BSC. The debtor may also organize tenders, but the value of the property in this case cannot be lower than that indicated in the act.
Limitations for Debtors
Another effective measure to ensure enforcement proceedings, which is more likely to be stimulating in nature, is to impose various restrictions on the debtor:
- transfer of information on the work of bailiffs with this person to the BCI (credit bureau), which subsequently makes it impossible to obtain loans from credit organizations;
- a ban on traveling abroad;
- deprivation of a driver’s license;
- shutdown of utilities (electricity, gas);
- suspension of IP activity, if the debtor is a legal entity.
The choice in favor of a particular measure is made taking into account each specific situation. For example, a bailiff cannot impose a ban on traveling abroad to a person whose work is connected with business trips, or deprive him of the right to drive vehicles if he works as a driver.
Initiation of bankruptcy of a debtor
Few people know that the collection by credit organizations (banks) of overdue debt through the courts with the subsequent involvement of bailiffs is a "headache" for both the bank and the BSC.
There are statistics on the activities of a credit institution in a particular area, which it should transmit to the Central Bank.Based on the data received, the Central Bank makes a rating of banks for various parameters: reliability, popularity, etc. The presence of a large number of overdue loans lowers the bank's rating down in all respects. Therefore, banks prefer to transfer the right to claim debt on unfavorable terms under the assignment agreement (they sell the debt to third parties).
Criminal proceedings
If there are clear signs of a crime, the bailiff may petition the Federal Bailiff Service to institute criminal proceedings. In case of approval, a petition is filed with the court to prosecute the accused under a criminal article. The most common charges against debtors are:
- fraud (Art. 159 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) - the debtor received a loan on forged documents or with the intent of deliberate non-return of funds;
- malicious evasion of the execution of the judgment on debt repayment (Article 177 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation) - the defendant invents sophisticated ways to avoid paying debts, is hiding;
- avoidance of payment of alimony (Article 157 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation).
Federal bailiffs can independently initiate criminal proceedings or do so on the basis of a statement by the defendant. The decision is made individually in each case. For example, if a woman expresses a desire to initiate a criminal case against her ex-husband for evading child support, the task of the bailiff is to explain to her the rule according to which the presence of a criminal record with close relatives (the father) will forever close the doors of her child to work in the public service.
How to learn about debt?
There are frequent cases when the non-performing his debt obligations finds out that he is the debtor (this status he receives after the trial) from the bailiff or from the accounting department of the company where he works. If you have bad debts, you can find out the debts from the bailiffs during a full-time visit to the MTP. There it will also be possible to resolve the issue of the amount, frequency and dates of payment.
If you have Internet access, you can do without a full-time visit to the bailiff service. You can find out the debt on the official site of the FSSP. You will need to enter the data of the debtor (name), date of birth, region of residence and captcha. If a court order has been issued and enforcement proceedings have been instituted against the person, data on the amount of debt will appear on the monitor. Also on the website are the addresses and phone numbers of branches of regional representative offices of the service.