BANKRUPTCY LAW

Evening Post, Volume CVIII, Issue 45, 21 August 1924, Page 9

BANKRUPTCY LAW

AMENDMENTS SUGGESTED

"IMPORTANT TO BUSINESS MEN-

For several years past members of tha Wellington Chamber of. Commerce have .from time to time drawn attention.to anomalies in the bankruptcy law, and recommendations have been- made thkt v the statutes should be amended. A committee .of the chamber submitted' a, '- report on the Question at a'meeting'yesl--torday afternoon, 'suggesting many amendments., In presenting the report, Mr. S. A. Longuet remarked that the subject was of great importance to business men. On behalf of the committee, Mr. Loriguet acknowledged "the valuable services rendered to the chamber by »Mr. '■ H. E. Evans, barrister and 'solicitor:'.in dealing with the legal points involved. fP* committee recommended, iii part-: That provision should be made whereby a bankrupt estate may be administered by a trustee to be- appomted by resolution of a -meeting of creditors.- . Such trustee should bs by Order in Council-to undertaka the duties of a trustee.. The- list would, include persons experienced in the conduct of various ■ kinds o f business and in the winding-up of compames and • assigned estates, the oh- ' iect _ being that , the .creditors may obtain the advantages arising from selecting a trustee possessing a special knowledge of, the particular kind of business -m which- the bankrupt has pppH, f gaSed- v One of ihe principal needs for amendment, of . the present bank ruptcy i ; ses {ron th P esent that _the Official.Assignees and their ?Zc i Cannot> iu---th a nature of thugs, be expected to possess exness »n^ c- dP^ f eVMy kind °£ b<«> Snd, f h y ■ m°St methods of realising every' kind of

POWER OF SALE BY PRIVATE CONTRACT. .

•en;P leh PP er ?? M Official As^Sne 6 to ' seU-a bankrupt's property is "limited Act to sale by public auction or public aWe ""f iD the C^se of pS able property or property unsuccessfully offered for sale by public auction 1883 and 1914 both contain power' to sell by.private contract in the first instance, and it is considered that the - compulsory offering of a stoc k for sale " by public auction or public tender often results m a sacrifice. A power to sell by private contract is considered to ba a very important adjunct- to the ■ proposal that the creditors - shall have the • nght to select their" own trustees, and " the power, to appoint supervisors should be a sufficient, safeguard against corZ* Fw?*-- , Ifc A ia.therefo« Proposed Hiatthe Official Assignee, the D'epntv- - Official Assignee, and the trustee shall a 1 have power to sell, by private contract. Any person who is acting in. one of those capacities and does not care to take the responsibility of selling by private contract will doubtless con- s timie to. adopt the present method.

EXPENSES Off PROSECUTION. "It is proposed that section 145 of the Bankruptcy Act, 1908, should be amended by adding after the' word Justices such words as 'and all the exposes, of extraditing and returning i° n w Zealand any Person who has left New Zealand and is- daly charged with any offence under this Act' Thisamendment is designed to remove the Qifficultyjnow frequently met-with in. bringing offenders to justice,'otherwisethan at the expense of the creditors. As the offences are by the Act itself recognised as offences against the community as a whole, the community should, as in all other cases of crime, Dear the whole expense of their punish-' roent. . ' r EXAMINATION: OF BANKRUPT." . "It is thought that, the interests of justice-would be better'served, and -.the possibility of- recovering hidden assets increased, if section 92 of- the Bankruptcy Act, 1908,, were amended by providing .that neither the Press reporters nor any other person shall publish- any question, and the', answer thareto, if the Official Assignee or .Magistrate, shall direct: that the question is one which the person under examination would, but for the provision of that section, be entitled to refuse to answer., .." 'The answer,' is'nqt admissible 'in ' subsequent • criminal-.: proceedings, but. the person - under examination is protably more likely to be influenced by the fear, that the Press report will reach, the members of the jury "who' may afterwards try him,-'than by the risk involved in giving a false answer, and so incurring -'the penalties of perW" ::■ ": : .•.'....■.'•■.•.■ . ■ ;.■■--. PREFERRED CREDITORS; ~* ;".It is.-suggested, that the-preference given to a landlord by section 120 (c) o, the. Bankruptcy Act,. 1908,' should ■ be-limited to .three months' rent instead, of six months^,, subject -to the ' piesent conditions as regards: disdain-able-goods-on the premises. - Incidentally, it is suggested that a--similar•-pre-ference- should- be given to a landlord iit-l-hcwmding-up of a. company under Me Companies Act,, 1908,: provided that the. landlord was not a director of the .company'(if .a.public company), 'or a-~" director of .or, shareholder in the company (if a--private ■- company)-'at" any lime within: three .'months prior to the commencement, of the winding-up." ■ : Other questions dealt with in the tb[.ort referred to the following subjects: --Books of account, list of undischarged bankrupts; fraudulent preference, andp.dniinistration of insolvent deceased estates. ■' .;- .-'.'•■'.■.-.■...- „ The report was adopted..' ■. :'.;\