Other meanings of Sequestration (law)
Law
In law, sequestration is a legal process by which property is seized or held by court order, often pending the outcome of litigation or to enforce a judgment. It derives from the Latin sequestrare, meaning “to place in safekeeping.”1 The term appears in diverse legal systems, including Scottish bankruptcy law, English contempt proceedings, and U.S. federal asset preservation, each with distinct procedures and effects.
Sequestration is a remedy whereby a court orders the seizure of property—real or personal—to be held by a neutral third party (the sequestrator) until a dispute is resolved or a judgment is satisfied.1 In English law, it historically served as a means of enforcing obedience to court orders, particularly in contempt of court, where the sequestrator takes control of the contemnor's assets to compel compliance. In the United States, federal courts may issue sequestration orders to preserve assets during litigation, such as in admiralty cases or to prevent dissipation of funds.2 The process is distinct from attachment or garnishment, as sequestration typically involves a court-appointed officer rather than a creditor's direct levy.
In Scots law, sequestration is the primary form of personal bankruptcy, governed by the Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 2016. It is a court process that vests the debtor's estate in a trustee, who liquidates assets to pay creditors. Sequestration can be initiated by the debtor, a creditor, or a trustee under a trust deed, and it results in the debtor being discharged from most debts after a specified period. The process is overseen by the Accountant in Bankruptcy, an agency of the Scottish Government, which ensures transparency and fairness. This usage is the most common in modern practice, though it retains the historical notion of property being “sequestered” from the debtor's control.
Civil law jurisdictions employ similar mechanisms under different names, such as saisie conservatoire in French law or sequestro in Italian law, which allow a court to freeze assets pending litigation.3 In international law, sequestration appears in the context of diplomatic property or wartime seizures, where assets are held to enforce treaties or reparations. For example, the United Nations Compensation Commission used a form of sequestration to hold and distribute funds from Iraqi oil revenues to compensate victims of the Gulf War. These analogues share the core principle of court-ordered custody to protect interests, but differ in procedural details and the rights of the parties involved.
Sequestration has a rich history beyond modern bankruptcy. In medieval England, it was used to enforce ecclesiastical court orders, such as sequestering the profits of a benefice to pay a debt. In the U.S., during the Civil War, the Confiscation Act of 1861 allowed for the sequestration of Confederate property, a rarely discussed precedent for wartime asset seizure. A notable edge case is the use of sequestration in family law, where courts may sequester marital assets to prevent one spouse from dissipating them during divorce proceedings.2 Additionally, in some jurisdictions, sequestration can apply to intellectual property, such as holding a disputed patent or copyright in escrow pending infringement litigation.4 These applications illustrate the flexibility of the concept across legal domains.
This entry focuses on the legal process of sequestration as a court-ordered seizure or holding of property, distinct from the U.S. federal budget sequestration mechanism.
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