The Essence of the Service: Enforcing a Monetary Award from a Labor Dispute
Enforcement of a financial claim arising from a labor dispute is the procedure through which a monetary award — for example unpaid or unduly withheld remuneration, salary, dismissal compensation or another amount recognized in the field of labor law — is actually collected within enforcement proceedings. The governing statute is the Georgian Law on Enforcement Proceedings: its Article 2 defines the acts subject to enforcement, Article 20 the rules on the enforcement sheet (writ), Article 25 the commencement of enforcement, and Article 31 the protection of the debtor's interests during compulsory enforcement.
In practice this final stage often proves the hardest: a favorable court decision must first be converted into an enforceable document, and then, through the National Bureau of Enforcement, carried through to actual payment. This page describes that path in detail — under the rules the law establishes precisely, and with the guarantees that protect the debtor as well.
Which Acts Are Subject to Compulsory Enforcement
Under Article 2 of the law, the acts subject to enforcement include, among others, decisions, rulings and determinations of courts that have entered into legal force in civil and administrative cases. A labor dispute is a civil case, so a court decision obtained against the debtor employer becomes enforceable on this basis once it enters into legal force. The same article also subjects to enforcement an arbitration award, a notarial act, an award of a foreign or international arbitration and other acts provided for by law — which matters where a labor dispute was resolved in arbitration or through a settlement given notarial form.
It should be noted that the list of enforceable acts in the law is broad and is amended periodically. For an exact catalogue the current wording should always be checked; this page sets out the categories most frequently used in the enforcement of labor disputes.
The Enforcement Sheet and the Commencement of Enforcement
Enforcement proceedings are not commenced without an enforcement sheet (the original writ), save for the exceptions expressly provided for by law (Article 20). The enforcement sheet is issued in respect of a decision subject to enforcement under this law, and it is issued to the creditor. In the labor context this means that, on the basis of the decision that has entered into legal force, the creditor — the former employee — receives the enforcement sheet and through it commences the collection of the monetary claim.
The National Bureau of Enforcement commences enforcement proceedings on the basis of the creditor's written application for compulsory enforcement and the enforcement sheet (Article 25). The sheet or the enforceable decision is submitted to the territorial organ of the Bureau according to the location of the debtor or the debtor's property; where the creditor is a natural person, observance of the territoriality principle is not mandatory. A certified copy of the enforceable decision must be attached to the sheet.
An important rule concerns interest and penalties: where the decision provides for an increase of the creditor's claim over the principal amount as a result of interest or penalty accrual, the accrual of interest or penalty on the principal stops from the day the enforcement proceedings commence, and resumes only from the day the Bureau returns the enforcement sheet to the creditor. In cases of unpaid salary this rule directly affects the economics of enforcement, so it must be taken into account when calculating the claim.