REGISTRATION OF UNSATISFIED JUDGMENTS. (Hansard, 18 November 1930)

Mr. TINNE

I beg to move, That leave be given to bring in a Bill to provide for the registration of unsatisfied judgments in the High Court and other local courts in the same manner as judgments obtained in county courts. Many hon. Gentlemen will have received letters from trade protection societies and other bodies advocating this reform. In order to make it clear to those who have not, I put forward the following statement as to the present state of the law. As the law stands at present, judgments against debtors for amounts over £10 obtained in the county courts are registered if not satisfied within 21 days. There is no such regis- 247 tration, however, in the case of unsatisfied judgments in the High Court or other local courts. The result is that debtors for large amounts, who are proceeded against in the High Court and do not meet judgments against them, continue to obtain credit without the possibility of their creditors having any knowledge that unsatisfied judgments exist. In other words, the small trader may be in the position of having his credit stopped, but the larger trader, who has not any registered judgments against him, may fail for a very large amount and no one will be the wiser. On the 3rd November, the Lord Advocate, replying for the Attorney-General to a question by the hon. Gentleman the Member for East Birkenhead (Mr. White) declined to take any action in the matter owing to the fact that there is some congestion of work in the Lord Chancellor's Department. His answer did not state that he had any objection to the principle, but he merely turned it down on the ground that he could not find time for it.

It seems probable that hon. Gentlemen opposite have no actual objection to the proposal, because in a paper which one understands officially represents the Labour party, a small article appeared on the 22nd May commenting on the annual report of the Incorporated Society of Trade Protection Societies. It is headed "Big Court Judgments kept secret," and goes on to comment that it is a singular legal anomaly that a small man finds that his credit is curtailed as a result of a county court judgment being registered against him, whereas a large competitor may have judgments involving large sums given against him in the High Court without anybody except the court, the creditor and himself being aware of the fact. It looks, therefore, as though hon. Gentlemen opposite will have no difficulty in agreeing to the Motion I am now submitting. As to the method by which this object can be achieved, my gallant and learned Friend the Member for Uxbridge (Major Llewellin) was kind enough to help me with the drafting of a two-Clause Bill, which was rather beyond my powers as a layman. The Bill first of all recites Section 183 of the 248 County Courts Act, 1888, which provides for the keeping of a register; and then there is Clause 2, which is in the following words: In construing this Act the word Courts' shall include every Court other than a Court of Summary Jurisdiction not included within the purview of Section 183 of the County Courts Act, 1888. We presume that such a Bill will achieve our object, but I shall be delighted if the Law Officers of the Crown will amend it, if that be necessary, and in the hope that it will be generally unopposed I beg to ask leave to introduce it.