Notice of freezing and confiscation orders in accordance with the Regulation (UE) 2018/1805

Part 1. Registry requirements

1. What is the procedure to lodge or present these judicial orders in the Land Register? Particularly electronic.

In Austria, communication is carried out via an internal network that requires advanced electronic signatures

2. Possibility of registering these orders in the event that who appears as the owner of a property according to the land registry («A») is a different person from the defendant (or person «B») who is issued a freezing or confiscation order against

Section 21 of the Austrian Land Register Act reads: Entries are only permitted against the person who appears in the land register at the time of the application as the owner of the property or the right in respect of which the entry is to be made, or who is simultaneously incorporated or noted as such. For this reason, a judgment is not registrable if the owner is person A and the judicial measure was issued against B.

In this case, the land registry office will reject the entry.

In such a case, the owner will be informed of the rejection.

3. Type and duration of the registration of these orders

• A freezing order and a confiscation order are considered different; each one of them leads to a different registration or notice.
• A confiscation order can only lead to indefinite registrations.
• A freezing order may lead to a provisional or temporary registration or notice and also to registrations for an indefinite period.
• In these cases, the judicial orders corresponding to opening procedures lead to a provisional or temporary registration or a registration for an indefinite period of time, in accordance with the criteria of the land register system.

Part 2. Registry effects

1. Effects of the freezing order once registered

• A warning to third parties
• Limitation of the power of the disposal of the owner: the owner may carry out some acts of disposition on his/her own, without judicial authorization.
• It involves the possibility of a forced sale of the property.
• It involves the possibility of auctioning the property.

Any party who acquires rights in the land register from the note on the security measure must let the result of the procedure work against them.

2. Effects of the confiscation order once registered

With such a judgment, the right for the plaintiff can be incorporated immediately and directly in the land register.

3. What is the registry proceeding and moment in which the opening procedures of freezing or confiscation are applied for registration?

In accordance with the relevant European Regulations on Sanctions the Federal Ministry of Interior has to notify the Landbook-Court about sanctions (if freezing or confiscation) deriving from the EU. Based on the notification the Landbook-Court has to act (intabulate) ex officio.

4. What are the executing authorities of these orders in this national system and what is the role of the land registers?

Freezing and Confiscations based on orders of the European Union have to be checked by the Ministry of Interior.
The Ministriy of Interior has to notify the relevant District Courts for the intabulation of freezing or confiscation orders.

Part 3. National land registry experience

The freezing orders are rare and the confiscation orders are very rare. This is not least due to a recent amendment to the enforcement law, which is why more lenient means are to be used initially.