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Attachment of Assets - Looseleaf
Attachment of Assets - Electronic
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Iceland
Attachment of Assets
1. What is the general nature and effect of judicial measures
available for plaintiffs to obtain provisional relief affecting
property of debtors to obtain security for judgments to be
obtained (“attachments”)? Freezing property in place? Placing
it in the custody of a third party, such as a Court official,
sheriff or marshal?
A relief affecting property of debtors, either attachment or provisional
measures, are administrative tasks but not judicial actions. Therefore,
such measures are under all normal circumstances conducted solely by
the appropriate Magistrate but not the District Court.
The applications for such a relief must be submitted in writing and
must specify as clearly as possible (i) the identity of the applicant and
of the person against whom the application is made, together with their
identification numbers and information on their domiciles or places of
residence, (ii) the amount for which the relief is requested, and (iii) the
source of authorization on which the claim is based.
The general nature of an attachment is that the assets of the debtor
are taken from the control of the debtor. Through the attachment, the
creditor gains a limited proprietary right over those assets, meaning the
debtor may not dispose of them in any manner contrary to the rights of
the creditor.
The general nature of provisional measures, which are related to an
attachment, is to provide for a “status quo” in connection with civil
proceedings. Such measures are taken so that fulfilment of a duty can
be obtained in the future or to prevent that illegal actions will be taken
that could frustrate fulfilment of the ultimate judgment or are likely to
eliminate that enforcement will be available at a later date.
The effect of these measures, both attachment and provisional
measures, is that the owner, the debtor, is prevented from using his
asset or property in any way that could damage the legal right of
another person or legal entity, the creditor. This can be done either by
removing property from the possession of the debtor or he can be
Othar Orn Petersen and Heidar Asberg Atlason, LOGOS legal services
