Bailiff
As the population expanded, the need for the services of a bailiff mainly arose from financial disputes; consequently, these assistants came to be closely associated with debt-collection, in the public's minds.
By Shakespeare's time, they had acquired the nickname bum-bailiffs, perhaps because they followed debtors very closely behind them;[citation needed] in France, the term pousse-cul (literally push-arse) was similarly used for their equivalent officers.
Some of these bailiffs are concerned with executing the orders of the courts, generally around the collection of debts, and some exercise semi-official supervisory powers over certain activities.
Those concerned with the execution of court orders are commonly referred to as bailiffs, although reforms to the law in 2014 have renamed all these positions to alternative titles.
In emulation of these responsibilities, a number of roles established by 19th century statute laws have also been named "bailiffs", despite not having a connection to a court.
[3][4] Civilian enforcement officers are employees of His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, and can seize and sell goods to recover money owed under a fine and community penalty notice, and also execute warrants of arrest, committal, detention and control (formally called distress or distraint).
In July 2013 HM Court Service announced it is to fully contract out the whole of the compliance and enforcement process to a private company; this would involve the transfer of over 500 of its employees.
[5] Certificated enforcement agents are used by local authorities, His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service and landlords for a variety of reasons such as collection of taxes, road traffic debts and commercial rent arrears.
They are generally employees of the Environment Agency and when executing their duties, have the powers and privileges of a police constable for the purpose of the enforcement of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries Act 1975.
Due to the negative association with debt collection, in former times, in the Fens of eastern England, the term Bailiff of Bedford was often used as slang for destructive floods of the River Great Ouse.
However, the term bailie is still used as an honorary title by Glasgow City Council for a number of senior councilors who can deputise for the Lord Provost.
In the Republic of Ireland, a bailiff (Irish: báille) is an official appointed by the Revenue Commissioners who is involved with the enforcement of judgments, including evictions and repossessions, and the collection of unpaid tax.
In some jurisdictions, duties of the bailiff include the service of legal documents, repossession and evictions in accordance with court judgments, application of wheel clamps and the execution of arrest warrants.
Bailiffs in this capacity assist others who have a right to exercise self-help to repossess or seize something, or to evict under a commercial (non-residential) tenancy.
Bailiffs are agents of the person contracting their services, not government employees or peace officers, and are prohibited from carrying weapons or using force to seize goods or evict tenants.
A bailiff provides physical security, handles prisoners, guards the jury, performs a number of ancient traditional duties (such as ordering "All rise!"
For instance, a court officer may provide courtroom security in a jurisdiction where a sheriff or constable handles service of process and seizures.
In the late 12th and early 13th century, King Philip II, an able and ingenious administrator who founded the central institutions on which the French monarchy's system of power would be based, prepared the expansion of the royal demesne through his appointment of bailiffs in the king's northern lands (the domaine royal),[19] based on the medieval fiscal and tax division known as the "baillie" which had been used by earlier sovereign princes such as the Duke of Normandy.
The administrative network of bailiwicks was established in the 13th century over the Crown lands (the domaine royal) by Philip Augustus who commissioned the first bailiff under the name bailli.
The administrative and financial role of the bailie courts declined in the early modern period (superseded by the king's royal tax collectors and provincial governors, and later by intendants), and by the end of the 18th century, the bailiwicks, which numbered in the hundreds, had become purely judicial.
The tipstaff's badge of authority was his verge, or staff, made of ebony, about 30 cm long, decorated with copper or ivory, and mandatory after 1560.
In the Low Countries and German-speaking Europe this position was known as baljuw (from bailli), but other words were used such as schout "reeve, (medieval) bailiff" (Holland, Antwerp, Mechelen, 's-Hertogenbosch, Turnhout), meier "majordomo" (Asse, Leuven), drossāte "steward, seneschal" (other parts of Brabant), amman (Brussels), and Amtmann and Ammann (Germany, Switzerland, Austria).
The modern Belgian terms huissier de justice (in French) or gerechtsdeurwaarder (in Dutch), however, are often, and inaccurately, translated into English as 'bailiff', though the latter under an Anglo Saxon law system is by no means identical to the former who is typical for many countries influenced by the Napoleonic Code.
The bailiff is a sworn officer who may legally deliver exploits (process serving), see to the execution of court orders such as the confiscation of goods, or make formal record of events, acts and circumstances.
In Belgium, the bailiff can be appointed by a confiscating court to exercise the judicial mandate of schuldbemiddelaar (in Dutch) or médiateur de dettes (in French), a debt negotiator, in a procedure called collectieve schuldenregeling (CSR) or médiation collective de dettes, a collectively negotiated settlement of debts, which is comparable with the regulations by the Wet Schuldsanering Natuurlijke Personen (WSNP) in the Netherlands.
In Netherlands during the Middle Ages, the term bailiff translates to baljuw, which had various meanings and sometimes carried the same privileges and duties as the title drost or drossaard, depending on the jurisdiction.
The two neighboring areas had needed the office to oversee the appointment of local council staff (mostly referred to as "schout & schepenen"), whose most important interests were the passage of travelers and goods by water (Muiden) and overland (Gooiland).
Non-Catholics who are heads or senior members of royal or princely houses may be granted the insignia of a Bailiff Knight Grand Cross of Honour and Devotion.
They are permitted to wear the collar, star, and sash of a bailiff, but, not being Catholic, do not receive any of the spiritual benefits of membership in the Order.
The regional courts supervise only the work of the bailiffs, especially with reference to the fastness, proficiency and accuracy of their activities; the correctness of office management and accounting.
