Change of court bailiff during enforcement proceedings

Is it possible to change the bailiff during the ongoing enforcement proceedings? The general rule adopted by the legislator allows the creditor to choose a bailiff throughout the country to conduct the enforcement proceedings. In this case, the creditor who decides to select a bailiff must submit an application for the initiation of enforcement along with an attached written declaration on the exercise of the right to choose a bailiff.

The bailiff receiving such an application along with the declaration is obliged to take appropriate enforcement actions within 7 days, and then, within the 4-day period provided for by the legislator, he should transfer the enforced amounts to the creditor.

It is worth adding at this point that the bailiff cannot refuse to accept such an application and take appropriate enforcement actions. The exception is the situation in which the arrears in the course of the enforcement carried out by that bailiff are more than six months, in which case the bailiff is forced to refuse to accept the application.

Change of bailiff - how to do it?

If, in the course of the enforcement proceedings, the creditor decides to change the bailiff due to dissatisfaction with his actions, e.g. difficult contact with the bailiff or other reasons, the creditor has the right to do so.

The creditor may change the bailiff during the pending enforcement proceedings in two ways. The first solution is to discontinue the ongoing enforcement proceedings with the current bailiff. However, this is not a favorable solution for the creditor himself, as in this case he must take into account the repeated costs and the need to reimburse the costs of the replacement.

The second solution, much more favorable, results from the act on bailiffs and enforcement, which in Art. 8 sec. 13 states that: The bailiff, with the consent of the creditor, may transfer all or part of the enforcement case to another bailiff, if he agrees.. As you can see, this solution allows the creditor to transfer all or part of the case to another bailiff, however, such a situation depends on consent to the takeover and conduct of the proceedings by the bailiff. Therefore, it is necessary for the creditor to agree with the future bailiff in such a situation.

If the creditor obtains the consent of the bailiff, he applies to the enforcement authority currently conducting the proceedings for transfer of the case files. The transfer takes place by way of a decision that may be appealed against.

Is it possible to change the bailiff in the case of real estate enforcement?

The situation in which we are dealing with real estate enforcement is completely different. In this case, the bailiff from the area where the property is located is the person authorized to conduct the case. Therefore, in the case of enforcement against real estate, the creditor cannot choose a bailiff, and therefore it is not possible to change the bailiff.