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Ive got a court order that states that the CSA have to repay the £8300 they took from the sale of my house as they havnt produced any evidence that I owed it in arrears But I have been told that if I try to enforce the order that they can over throw the order as they are above the law is this true and what can i do about getting my money back??
Because it is a government agency it enjoys levels of 'crown immunity' not afforded to other firms. You would really need to take formal advice to see whether your claim could be structured in such a way as to call them to account, but a letter to your MP would be a good start.
Ive got a court order that states that the CSA have to repay the £8300 they took from the sale of my house as they havnt produced any evidence that I owed it in arrears But I have been told that if I try to enforce the order that they can over throw the order as they are above the law is this true and what can i do about getting my money back??
goony
Who told you they're above the law? Crown immunity from civil action was mostly abolished in 1947 and s.25 of the Crown Immunity Act 1947 provides a method for enforcing judgments against the Crown. Basically the court would issue you with a certificate that you would serve against the CSA, who then should pay you. What you need is a certificate of satisfaction for an order against the Crown, which the court that issued it should provide on application by you.
I'd go back to them and ask for such a certificate. It's issued on form 95 (Certificate of Order against the Crown) and a Word version is available from here, enter 95 in the form number box. Similarly form 96 is the similar certificate for costs if any were awarded.
I'm not 100% sure of the procedure to have the certificate issued, if I were you I'd go back to the court with the details and ask for the certificates. It might help if you download and complete the ones from the web and take them in to show to the court officer.
I like the 'mostly' abolished. Isn't that like being 'a little bit pregnant'? I can vouch for an action against the Department of Social Security being challenged as incompetent because the Judge did not note the exemption held in a 1968 Act of Parliament (can't remember which one, sorry), in a matter over pension mis-calculations. Don't get me wrong, I'm not supporting their exclusion, but in my action to call Royal Mail to account, I suffered a similar date, with the A of P taking precedence. Crown iimunity has simply been renamed, not dispensed with.
I like the 'mostly' abolished. Isn't that like being 'a little bit pregnant'?
No, immunity from some causes of action (probably the most common) but not all was removed by the 1947 act. Crown immunity still stands for the majority of criminal offences but has, for example, been recently removed for H&S violations. There may be later acts that reintroduce immunity for specific bodies but the 1947 act is still good law.
Further the OP states they've obtained an order already. This leads to an inference that the CSA would have had a chance to oppose that order and that the issue of immunity would have been raised at that point, should there be any immunity to be claimed. I see what you say about your action regarding the DSS but the exemption claimed in that case may not apply to this one.
Also the CSA1991 does not appear to grant immunity from civil action and there are a large number of reported civil cases where the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions on behalf of the CSA is one of the parties.
The OP still needs to try and get his/her form 95 sorted and enforce the order. If they're good enough to let us know what has happened that'll answer the question once and for all.
Taking the CSA to court????
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Originally Posted by goony
