ABSTRACT
A Freezing Order is sought because the claimant fears the consequences of not restraining the defendant. Thus, in whichever court the application is made, it is almost always without notice, based on affidavit or draft affidavit evidence, and can be before issue of the claim form in urgent cases, so long as the order contains an undertaking to issue forthwith. Also, the term "forthwith" was preferable to "as soon as practicable" or similar phrases, so that an undertaking, as an example, would be: "forthwith to issue a claim form in the terms of the draft" or some closely similar term. These and similar issues are expressly dealt with in the Civil Procedure Rules, the Practice Direction, and the draft Orders, although applicants can propose different wording to suit the particular circumstances. Although most Mareva applications used to be in the Commercial Court, Freezing Orders are widespread in all Divisions and sub-divisions of the High Court.
