Legal Definitions - parata executio

Parata executio is a legal term used in Scots law. It describes a situation where a creditor—an individual or entity owed money—has successfully completed all the necessary legal procedures, referred to as "diligence," to establish their right to collect a debt. Once parata executio is achieved, the creditor is legally empowered to proceed with enforcing the payment of the debt, for example, by seizing assets or garnishing wages.

Here are some examples illustrating parata executio:

• Imagine a bank that provided a mortgage loan for a property in Scotland. If the homeowner defaults on their payments, the bank (the creditor) must follow specific legal steps to repossess the property. Once the bank has obtained a court order for repossession and completed all the required legal filings and notifications under Scottish law, they have achieved parata executio. This means they are now legally authorized to proceed with selling the property to recover the outstanding mortgage debt.

• Consider a small business in Glasgow that supplied goods to another company but has not been paid for several months. The supplier (the creditor) decides to take legal action. After successfully obtaining a court judgment (known as a "decree" in Scotland) confirming the debt and completing all necessary registration steps for this judgment, the supplier has parata executio. This empowers them to take enforcement actions, such as freezing the debtor company's bank accounts or seizing its physical assets, to recover the money owed.

• Suppose an individual in Edinburgh lent a significant sum of money to a friend, who later failed to repay it as agreed. The lender (the creditor) initiates legal proceedings to recover the debt. After going through the Scottish court system and obtaining a final, enforceable order for payment, and ensuring all subsequent legal requirements for enforcement are met, the lender has achieved parata executio. They can now legally pursue methods like wage arrestment (garnishing wages) or attachment of assets to collect the debt from their friend.