Enforcement proceedings mainly concern the relationship of two parties with conflicting interests. It can, however, happen that the enforcement is carried out regarding an object not belonging to the debtor but to a third party. Therefore, there is a need for the third party to have a guarantee on effective protection of their rights. The principal legal remedy of a third party in the enforcement proceedings is the third party's objection. This remedy is defined in Article 64 of the Enforcement and Securing of Civil Claims Act (Zakon o izvršbi in zavarovanju – ZIZ). The first paragraph provides that when a third party plausibly shows that they have a claim to an object that is a part of the enforcement proceedings and that this right prevents the enforcement itself, the third party has the right to raise an objection and demand from the court to declare the enforcement on the disputed object inadmissible. Rights that constitute the legal base for a third party objection are property law rights, other absolute, and some contractual rights. However, these rights are not defined in the Act. The consequences of a third party objection are entirely dependent on the will of the creditor, since the court can, even in the case of a creditor's unfounded opposition, reject the objection. In such a case, the third party then can file a lawsuit on the grounds of inadmissibility of enforcement proceedings. An objection and a lawsuit are non-suspensive legal remedies, hence the third party must, in case they want to prevent the continuing of the enforcement proceedings, ask for a delay of such proceedings. In enforcement proceedings, the third party does not have the legal status of a party but has a subordinate position in relation to the creditor. We raise the question whether or not this is acceptable and whether the legal protection of the third party is efficient, regarding the available legal remedies.
In the last part, the major characteristics of the Austrian legal regime on third party objection are presented. The Slovenian legislator namely followed the example set by the Austrian law when passing domestic legislation concerning this issue.
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