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Clifford Chance

Clifford Chance

Briefings

European Account Preservation Orders: must try harder - 10 September 2014

10 September 2014

The European Commission has achieved its aim of creating a European Account Preservation Order that will allow the cross border freezing of bank accounts. But the instrument that has emerged is a pale shadow of what the Commission wanted. For example, the instrument is limited to bank accounts as conventionally understood rather than extending to just about any transaction a bank might enter into with its customers, the availability of the instrument will no longer be near automatic in cross-border litigation, and the applicant will usually be required to provide security in order to protect the defendant. This dilution begs the question as to whether the instrument will really be used in practice and whether it is worthwhile those EU member states, like the UK, that have not opted into the instrument now doing so. We think not - yet at least.

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