C-25.01 - Code of Civil Procedure

Section 685 Disposition versions

2016-01-01

685. Bailiffs have a duty of impartiality toward all participants in execution proceedings, as well as a general duty to provide information to them. Bailiffs may perform any act necessary for the exercise of their mission.

Specifically, a bailiff is required to inform the debtor and any garnishees of the content of the notice of execution and of their rights, and, on their request, explain the execution proceedings to them and the rules for computing the seizable portion of income. The bailiff is also required to carry out the creditors’ instructions in the manner that is most advantageous not only for them but for all the parties. The bailiff informs the creditors named in the list provided by the debtor that a notice of execution has been filed and invites them to inform the bailiff of the nature and amount of their claim.

Unless they acted in bad faith or committed an intentional or gross fault, bailiffs cannot be held liable for the exercise of functions that are assigned to them in forced execution matters and relate to an eviction, the removal of property or the seizure of the debtor’s property or of a passenger vehicle or to a sale under judicial authority as the method of realization in execution of a judgment.

2014, c. 1, a. 685.