The suspension of enforcement, in other words, the postponement of enforcement, is the suspension of enforcement proceedings until the conclusion of enforcement proceedings, prior to filing an appeal or cassation, by obtaining a decision to suspend enforcement from the court of appeal or cassation upon the debtor depositing a certain security into the enforcement file.
Postponement procedures are regulated in Article 33 of the Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law. According to this article:
Within seven days of the notification of the enforcement order, the debtor may apply to the enforcement court with a petition claiming that the debt has expired, been destroyed, or been repaid. If the request for return or repayment is made ex officio or is duly approved by the competent authorities, or if it is confirmed by a document approved by the enforcement office, the enforcement court, or the court, the enforcement is suspended.
Conditions for Postponement:
In order for a decision to postpone enforcement to be made, the petition must include the phrase “Postponement of Enforcement” or, in other words, “Postponement of Enforcement is Requested” while the case subject to the decision is being appealed or is in the appeal stage.
The decision of the court of first instance must be duly served on the opposing party.
The security must be deposited in the enforcement file with three months’ interest.
Process of Staying Enforcement:
In order for an enforcement decision to be made, the proceedings initiated by the judgment or judgment-like document must first be duly served on the debtor.
After the notification is served, the debtor must be informed that they will first appeal the first instance court decision on which the enforcement proceedings are based. The decision is a ruling that the first instance court decision has been appealed. In the next stage, the debtor must deposit the current debt into the file along with collateral covering three months’ interest on the current debt. This security deposit may be in cash or in the form of a letter of guarantee obtained from a bank. To find out the full amount of the security deposit, the debtor must submit a request to open a security deposit (file) account in the enforcement file. Principal receivables, fees, interest, and attorney’s fees are calculated collectively in this security deposit account.
The debtor who deposits the security and receives the promissory note must obtain a deferral certificate from the enforcement file. The deferral certificate is a document showing the period during which the decision to suspend enforcement is brought. If the debtor’s security is adequate, they obtain a sixty-day deferral certificate by applying to the enforcement office to bring the decision to postpone enforcement. During this process, the enforcement file waits until the Court of Cassation approves or overturns the file, along with the decision to suspend enforcement.
If the debtor cannot obtain a decision to suspend enforcement from the Court of Appeals within this period, they may reapply to the enforcement office and request an additional thirty-day postponement period. If the debtor does not obtain a decision to postpone enforcement within this additional period, the creditor may request the security deposited for the purpose of collecting the debt from the enforcement office.After all these steps have been completed, in order for a postponement decision to be made, an application must be submitted to the court of appeal or cassation with a petition stating that the security has been deposited in the enforcement file and that a deferral certificate has been issued.
With the decision to postpone enforcement obtained by the debtor from the court of appeal or cassation, the enforcement file is completely suspended, and no action is taken to collect the debt until the decision of the court of first instance is issued. If the court of appeal or cassation overturns the decision, the debtor can recover the entire amount deposited as security from the enforcement office. If the decision is upheld by the court of first instance, the creditor will then collect the amount deposited as security in the enforcement file.