Interest on judgment debts

Published by a UU��ֱ�� Dispute Resolution expert

Practice notes

Interest on judgment debts

Published by a UU��ֱ�� Dispute Resolution expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note provides guidance on claiming interest on judgment debts.

For information on claiming interest when issuing:

•
a claim, see Practice Note: Claiming interest
•
a foreign currency claim, see Practice Note: Foreign currency claims—interest on damages and judgment debt

When and at what rate do judgment debts attract interest?

Judgment debts accrue simple interest at a rate of 8% a year until payment, unless rules of court provide otherwise, pursuant to section 17 of the Judgments Act 1838 (JA 1838) and the Judgment Debts (Rate of Interest) Order 1993, SI 1993/564. This rate has applied to judgments since 1 April 1993.

The court cannot vary the rate of interest under JA 1838 (School Facility Management v Governing Body of Christ the King College (applying Rocco Giuseppe v Tradax Export and Chubb v Dean) and Schlumberger Holdings v Electromagnetic Geoservices) but it can determine the date from which interest will run (CPR 40.8). An exception applies when dealing with foreign currencies, see Practice Note: Foreign currency claims—interest on damages and judgment debt.

Interest

Jurisdiction(s):

United Kingdom

Key definition:

Interest definition

What does Interest mean?

The return earned on funds which have been loaned or invested (ie the amount a borrower pays to a lender for the use of their money).

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