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Chapter 14: Judgments, Seizures and Judgments-
Mortgages—
Major
Recommendations
(1) Judgments which are not registered within twenty-
one days of bankruptcy should not be void.
(2) The proceeds of sale of goods and leaseholds or
any moneys received in satisfaction of an execution
should be retained by the Sheriff or County Registrar
for twenty-one days, and, in the event of bankruptcy,
should be paid to the Official Assignee. There should
be no lower limit to the amount retained by the Sheriff
or County Registrar for payment to the Official Assignee
in the event of bankruptcy. The period of retention
should be increased to twenty-one days.
(3) A judgment mortgage registered at least three
months before adjudication should give the mortgagee
preference over simple contract creditors.
Chapter 15: Power of the Court to put the Official
Assignee or the Purchaser of Lands in Possession—
Major
Recommendations
Provision should be made to enable possession of a
bankrupt's lands to be given to either the Official
Assignee or a purchaser.
Chapter 18: Money Deposited in the Post Office Sav-
ings Bank and Securities issued through the Post
Office by the Minister for
Finance—
Major
Recom-
mendations
Money in the Savings Bank and securities issued
through the Post Office by the Minister for Finance
should be subject to the vesting provisions in bank-
ruptcy.
Chapter 20:
Copyright—
Major
Recommendations
The author of a work should receive royalties in full
where the holder of the copyright is adjudicated bank-
rupt.
Chapter 22: Fraudulent or Voidable Preferences—
Major
Recommendations
A conveyancer or transfer made within six months
of adjudication should be deemed fraudulent. Guaran-
tors should be brought within the confines of the section.
A new provision should be introduced to deal with
certain transactions carried out within three months of
adjudication, which would not be fraudulent, but which
would in future be declared void, if the doctrine of
relation back were abolished. The section should not
apply to arrangements.
Chapter 23: Voluntary
Conveyances—
Major
Recom-
mendations
The section should apply to all debtors, whether tra-
ders or not, and to wives as well as husbands. Voluntary
conveyances should be avoided if made within two or
ten years, depending on the circumstances. A transfer
of after-acquired property made in pursuance of a con-
tract or settlement should be void against the Official
Assignee unless made more than two years before adju-
dication. The right of a spouse under Section
113
of
the Succession Act
1965,
if exercised by a bankrupt
should not be void against the Official Assignee.
Chapter 27: Power of Court to Appropriate Part of
Bankrupt's Income, Salaries,
etc.—
Major
Recom-
mendations
The proposed section has been extended to cover the
earnings of professional and self-employed persons.
Departmental or other sanction to pay portion of a
salary or income to the Official Assignee is, in our view,
unnecessary.
Chapter
29:
Allowances Payable in Bankruptcy—
Major
Recommendations
Allowances payable in bankruptcy should be a matter
for the judge sitting in bankruptcy.
Chapter 30: Position of Banker in Relation to Bank-
rupt's
Account—
Major
Recommendations
Special notification of bankruptcies should not be
given to the Irish Banks Joint Standing Committee.
Banks should notify the Official Assignee of any account
in a bankrupt's name.
Chapter 31: Debts to Rank
Equally—
Major
Recom-
mendations
Subject to Sections 60 (2) (B), 81 and 132 of the
draft Bill, all debts should rank equally.
Chapter 34: Claim to Property in the Possession of a
Bankrupt—
Major
Recommendations
Claimants to property in the possession of a bankrupt
should file with the Official Assignee a claim verified
by affidavit. If an affidavit is not filed within one month
after service of a notice from the Official Assignee he
may sell such property.
Chapter 35: Re-Direction of
Letters—
Major
Recom-
mendations
Provision should be made for an application to be
made by the Official Assignee, to re-direct to him letters
including telegrams and postal packets addressed to a
bankrupt.
Chapter 36: Audit and
Dividend—
Major
Recommen-
dations
A new procedure for distribution of a bankrupt's
estate is recommended. It suggests that the report to the
Court, a copy of the bankrupt's account in the Official
Assignee's books, particulars of expenses, fees, costs
and a note of the dividend payable should be placed in
the Court file to be open for public inspection prior to
their submission to the Court for approval.
Chapter 37: Unclaimed Dividend Ac c oun t—
M a j or
Recommendations
The existing Unclaimed Dividend Account operated
by the Judge and the Examiner should be wound up
and replaced by one operated by the Official Assignee
alone to which the balance in the existing account
should be transferred. The provisions relating to in-
demnification of the Official Assignee out of the
Unclaimed Dividend Account should be retained and
extended.
Chapter 38: Annulment and Di s cha r ge—
M a j or
Recommendations
Annulment and discharge should be distinguished.
A bankrupt whose estate has been realised should be
entitled to his discharge if his creditors receive fifty
pence in the £ or more. A bankrupt should be entitled
to his discharge if his bankruptcy has subsisted for
twelve years. All subsisting bankruptcies where the
order of adjudication was made before the 1st January
1950 should be discharged.
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