Mareva Injunction Law and Legal Definition
A Mareva injunction is a type of court order used in England and the United Kingdom. It is a type of interlocutory relief designed to freeze the assets of a defendant, in appropriate circumstances, pending determination of a plaintiff's claim. Mareva injunctions are often used to prevent a defendant from transfering assets out of the Court's jurisdiction as soon as a claim is served, in order to frustrate enforcement of any ensuing judgment. The injunction is named after the 1975 UK case, Mareva Compania Naviera SA v International Bulkcarriers SA 2 Lloyd's Rep 509 [1975]. A Mareva injunction can also be called a freezing injunction.
The granting of a Mareva injunction does not give the plaintiff property, nor does it give the plaintiff a lien on the defendant's property. It gives no priority to the potential creditor over other claimants before or after judgment, nor does it affect the laws relating to insolvency. The defendant is restrained from disposing of his assets in the sense that to do so will constitute contempt of court, but the injunction does not affect the defendant's power to dispose of his assets.
