Statutory sittings scrapped as remaining Bankruptcy Act provisions commence

Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald has signed a commencement order for the remaining provisions of the Bankruptcy (Amendment) Act 2015.

Those sections - 3, 4, 5, 13 and 14 - provide for the abolition of ‘statutory sittings’, the requirement for an extra High Court hearing in all bankruptcy cases, which must be attended by the bankrupt person, the creditors and the Official Assignee, some weeks after a debtor is adjudicated bankrupt.

These provisions of the law have had a late commencement due to a need to change the Rules of Court.

The Superior Courts Rules Committee signed the rules on 7 April and Ms Fitzgerald concurred on 9 May in the Rules of Court (SI No. 232 of 2016), making the changes with effect from yesterday.

Ms Fitzgerald said: “This Government is committed to providing practical assistance for people indebted through no fault of their own who genuinely seek to return to solvency and to building on our recent bankruptcy and insolvency reforms

“The Bankruptcy (Amendment) Act 2015 continues the modernisation of our bankruptcy system. This latest Commencement Order will remove unnecessary costs and delays for debtors and creditors, free up court time and resources and allow more efficient and effective bankruptcy administration.”