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S. 213 on “fraudulent trading” provides that if during the winding-up of a company, any business of the company has been carried out with the intention to defraud its creditors, on application of the liquidator, the court may declare any persons engaged in such business to be liable to make such contributions to the company’s assets as the court deems appropriate. The court’s discretion in terms of relief is wide, and can (subject to a “good faith” exception) include orders against any third party that has received a benefit as a result of the transaction. The Insolvency Act 1986 was designed to deal with issues such as the underutilisation of the provisions for schemes of composition and arrangement once bankruptcy proceedings had started in the Bankruptcy Act 1914. Chapter V - Effect of Bankruptcy on certain rights, transactions etc. The relief available to a successful claimant will be orders restoring the position to what it would have been but for the transaction. 2. At the same time, it aimed to bring the UK insolvency law more in line with the continental insolvency law. Why was it introduced? The Insolvency Act 1986 provides the legal platform to deal with issues arising out of personal and corporate insolvency. 1. (2) A proposal under this Part is one which provides for some person (“the nominee” ) to act in relation to the voluntary arrangement either as trustee or otherwise for the purpose of supervising its implementation; and the nominee must be a person who is qualified to act as an insolvency practitioner [or authorised to act as nominee, in relation to the voluntary arrangement]2 . This will include an outright gift, or a transaction in which the consideration received was significantly less than that given. A common scenario that may be caught by the section is where a businessman transfers his interest in the matrimonial home to his wife, with a view to protecting the asset in advance of him embarking on a potentially risky business venture. Section 423 of Act provides a further, often misunderstood cause of action, under the heading of “Transactions defrauding creditors”. They were all supplemented by the principles of common law and equity. Chapter VII - Powers of Court in Bankruptcy, Part X - Individual Insolvency: General Provisions, Part XI - Interpretation for second group of parts, Part XII - Preferential debts in company and individual insolvency, Part XIII - Insolvency Practitioners and their qualifications (ss 338-398), Part XIV - Public Administration (ss 399-410), Part XVI - Provisions against debt avoidance (England and Wales Only), Schedule B1, on the new administration procedure after the, This page was last edited on 28 June 2020, at 16:46. It is sufficient to show that the purpose of avoiding creditors was at least one of the substantial purposes of the transaction.
Secondly, the claimant must show that the transaction was entered into for the purpose of putting assets beyond the reach of creditors or future creditors, or otherwise prejudicing their interests. What was the aim of the Act?
Such actions, known as antecedent transaction claims, are aimed at the recovery of assets for the insolvent estate, for the benefit of the creditors as a whole. The Act established a more flexible system of voluntary arrangements. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of LawTeacher.net. Section 423 is most commonly used by trustees in bankruptcy or liquidators. (Political/Sociological Context). The report found that there was no comprehensive statement of the law of insolvency in England and Wales. Company Registration No: 4964706. Looking for a flexible role? The Insolvency Act 1986 thus introduced a distinction between “fraudulent trading” where proof of dishonesty was needed, so that liability can be established, and “wrongful trading”, where evidence that the director failed to take measures to minimise the losses of the company’s creditors would suffice in order to establish liability. Ultimately, relief under the section is at the Court’s discretion, and leaving aside the evidentiary difficulties in challenging a transaction from many years ago, the Courts will be reluctant to go back in time indefinitely. Further, and perhaps more significantly, preference and transaction at undervalue claims are subject to time limits; the office holder can only challenge transactions occurring during the specified relevant time prior to the insolvency appointment. It is not necessary that the creditors in question be in existence at the time the transaction is entered into; a transaction effected with the purpose of defeating future claims can be caught by the section. Where a debtor has yet to enter a formal insolvency process, it is open to a creditor to bring a claim in their own right, where they have been a “victim” of the impugned transaction. The Cork Report provided some recommendations on the amendment of the proposed convention. The Insolvency Act 1986 essentially governs issues relating to personal bankruptcy and Individual Voluntary Arrangements and all administrative orders relating to company insolvency. We also have a number of samples, each written to a specific grade, to illustrate the work delivered by our academic services. S. 214 on “wrongful trading” imposes personal liability on any director who knew or ought to have known that there was no reasonable prospect that the company would avoid going into insolvent liquidation. Prior to the adoption of the Insolvency Act 1986, the attempts to tackle the issues associated with insolvency, followed a piecemeal approach, rather than interpreting insolvency law as a whole and dealing with the corporate debtor and the individual debtor at the same time. Paragraph 18, Schedule 1, Insolvency Act 1986; Schedule 10, Insolvency Act 1986; Section 379ZB, Insolvency Act 1986; Maintained. After the UK joined the EU in 1973, it was under an obligation to consider the draft of the Convention on Bankruptcy, Winding Up, Arrangements, Compositions and Similar Proceedings, which was prepared by the six original EU Member States.
7th Jun 2019 f +44 (0)333 200 5201 Those considering the main Act should also refer to the Insolvency Rules 1986 and numerous Regulations and other amending legislation since 1986, and also to the best practice which applies to the administration of formal insolvency matters set out in the Statements of Insolvency Practice (SIPs) approved by the insolvency practitioner authorising bodies. Lyndon Norley, Kirkland & Ellis International LLP and Joseph Swanson and Peter Marshall, Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020, Text of Act from insolvencyhelpline.co.uk, Insolvency Practitioners Association website, Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919, Measures of the National Assembly for Wales, Acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Insolvency_Act_1986&oldid=964963804, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, An Act to consolidate the enactments relating to company insolvency and winding up (including the winding up of companies that are not insolvent, and of unregistered companies); enactments relating to the insolvency and bankruptcy of individuals; and other enactments bearing on those two subject matters, including the functions and qualification of insolvency practitioners, the public administration of insolvency, the penalisation and redress of malpractice and wrongdoing, and the avoidance of certain transactions at an undervalue, England and Wales; Scotland; Northern Ireland, Chapter I - Receivers and Managers (England and Wales), Chapter III - Receivers Powers in Great Britain as a whole, Chapter II - Voluntary Winding Up (Introductory and General), Chapter III - Members Voluntary Winding Up (ss 91-96), Chapter IV - Creditor' Voluntary Winding Up (ss 97-106), Chapter V - Provisions Applying to both kinds of Winding up, Chapter VI - Winding Up by the Court (ss 117-162), Chapter VIII - Provisions of general application in winding up, Chapter IX - Dissolution of companies after winding up, Chapter X - Malpractice before and during Liquidation; Penalisation of companies and company officers; Investigations and prosecutions (ss 206-219), Part V - Winding Up Unregistered Companies (ss 220-229), Part VI - Miscellaneous Provisions applying to Companies which are Insolvent or in Liquidation, Part VII - Interpretation for first group of parts, Part VIII - Individual Voluntary Arrangements, Chapter I - Bankruptcy Petitions - Bankruptcy Orders, Chapter II - Protection of Bankrupt's Estate and Investigation of his Affairs. The Insolvency Act 1986 (c 45) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that provides the legal platform for all matters relating to personal and corporate insolvency in the UK. The Act established a more flexible system of voluntary arrangements. S. 426 Insolvency Act 1986 makes some important provisions on transnational insolvency by establishing an intra-UK system of reciprocal enforcement in respect of bankruptcy, winding up, receivership, administrative order and voluntary arrangement procedures. The most commonly used of these provisions are those dealing with preferences and transactions at undervalue. Do you have a 2:1 degree or higher? S. 423 Insolvency Act 1986 made voidable any transaction at undervalue made for the purposes of defrauding creditors. The necessary purpose need not be the sole purpose, or even the dominant purpose. VAT Registration No: 842417633.