European Communities (Personal Insolvency) Regulations, 2002

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 334/2002

I, Michael McDowell, Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 3 of the European Communities Act 1972 (No. 27 of 1972) and, in conjunction with the European Communities (Corporate Insolvency Regulations 2002 ( S.I. No. 333 of 2002 ), for the purpose of giving full effect to Council Regulation (EC) No. 1346/2000 OJ L160 of 30.6.2000 of 29 May 2000 on insolvency proceedings, make the following regulations:
Part 1 Preliminary and general
	Citation	1. These Regulations may be cited as the European Communities (Personal Insolvency Regulations 2002.
	Interpretation	2. (1) In these Regulations -
“enforcement order” means an order under Regulation 5(5);
“insolvency proceedings” means insolvency proceedings opened under Article 3 in a member state of the European Communities other than the State and Denmark where the debtor or each debtor is an individual or deceased;
“Insolvency Regulation” means Council Regulation (EC) No 1346/2000 of 29 May 2000 on insolvency proceedings, the text of which, in the English language, is set out in the Schedule to these Regulations for convenience of reference;
“Official Assignee” means the Official Assignee in Bankruptcy.
(3) Unless provided otherwise, a word or expression used in these Regulations and also in the Insolvency Regulation has the same meaning in these Regulations as it has in that Regulation.
(4) References in these Regulations (other than Regulation 5) to numbered Articles without qualification are references to the Articles so numbered of the Insolvency Regulation.
	Amendment of Bankruptcy Act 1988	3. The Bankruptcy Act 1988 (No. 27 of 1988) is amended -
(a) in section 3 (interpretation) -
(i) by adding the following definitions:
“‘insolvency proceedings’ means insolvency proceedings opened in a member state under Article 3 of the Insolvency Regulation where the debtor or each debtor is an individual or deceased;
‘Insolvency Regulation’ means Council Regulation (EC) No. 1346/2000 of 29 May 2000 1 on insolvency proceedings;
‘liquidator’ means a liquidator appointed in insolvency proceedings;
‘member state’ means a member state of the European Communities other than the State and Denmark;”,
(ii) by substituting the following for the definition of “property”:
“‘property’ -
(a) includes money, goods, things in action, land and every description of property, whether real or personal,
(b) includes obligations, easements and every description of estate, interest, and profit, present or future, vested or contingent, arising out of or incident to property,
(c) in relation to proceedings opened in the State under Article 3(1) of the Insolvency Regulation includes property situated outside the State, and
(d) in relation to proceedings so opened under Article 3(2) of the Regulation, does not include property so situated;”, and
(iii) by adding the following subsection:
“(2) Parts II, III, IV (in so far as it relates to vesting arrangements), V, VI and VIII and the First Schedule are subject to Chapters I (general provisions) and III (secondary insolvency proceedings) of the Insolvency Regulation.”,
(b) in section 61 (functions of Official Assignee in bankruptcy and vesting arrangements), by inserting the following subsection between subsections (3) and (4);
“(3A) In the case of an adjudication in bankruptcy under Article 3(1 of the Insolvency Regulation, the Official Assignee shall have the powers conferred on a liquidator in relation to taking action in member states under the Regulation.”,
(c) by adding the following sections after section 140;
“Registration of judgments given in insolvency proceedings.
140A. (1) Without prejudice to Article 16(1) of the Insolvency Regulation, a liquidator who intends -
(a) to request under Article 21 of the Regulation that notice of the judgment opening the insolvency proceedings concerned and, where appropriate, the decision appointing him or her be published in the State, or
(b) to take any other action in the State under the Regulation,
shall deliver to the Official Assignee, for registration in a register to be kept for that purpose, a duly certified copy of the judgment and, where appropriate, of the decision appointing the liquidator.
(2) Registration under subsection (1) may also be effected by the Official Assignee on application by a liquidator who does not intend to take any action in the State under the Insolvency Regulation.
(3) The certified copy or copies mentioned in subsection (1) shall be accompanied by -
(a) if the judgment or decision is not expressed in Irish or English, a translation, certified to be correct by a person competent to do so, into either of those languages,
(b) the prescribed form, and
(c) any prescribed fee.
(4) The Official Assignee shall issue to the liquidator a certified copy of the entry in the register.
(5) The register shall be open to public inspection on payment of a prescribed fee.
(6) A copy of an entry in the register shall be supplied, on request by the Official Assignee.
(7) In any proceedings a document purporting to be -
(a) a duly certified copy of a judgment opening insolvency proceedings or a decision appointing a liquidator in such proceedings, or
(b) a translation of such a document which is certified as correct by a person competent to do so,
shall, without further proof, be admissible as evidence of the judgment the liquidator's appointment or the translation, unless the contrary is shown.
Publication in relation to insolvency proceedings.
140B. (1) In this section ‘publication’ means publication of-
(a) notice of the judgment opening the insolvency proceedings concerned,
(b) where appropriate, the decision appointing the liquidator,
(c) the name and business address of the liquidator and
(d) the provision (either paragraph 1 or paragraph 2 of Article 3 of the Insolvency Regulation giving jurisdiction to open the proceedings,
in the prescribed manner in Iris Oifigiúil and in at least one daily newspaper circulating in the State.
(2) Without prejudice to section 140A(1), publication shall be effected by the liquidator concerned.
(3) Where the debtor has an establishment (within the meaning of Article 2(h) of the Insolvency Regulation) in the State, the liquidator or any authority mentioned in Article 21(2) of the Regulation shall ensure that publication takes place as soon as practicable after the opening of the insolvency proceedings.
Provision of certain documents to Official Assignee.
140C. Where -
(a) a debtor is adjudicated bankrupt,
(b) the Court approves of a proposal for vesting the property of a debtor in the Official Assignee under Part IV, or
(c) an order is made by the Court for the administration under Part VI of a deceased's estate,
the Court shall, on application by the Official Assignee -
(i) certify that the Official Assignee is the liquidator within the meaning of the Insolvency Regulation, being the person whose function it is to administer or liquidate the assets of the debtor, or deceased debtor, concerned, and
(ii) arrange for a certified copy of the order made for the purposes of paragraph (a), (b) or (c) to be supplied to the Official Assignee.”,
and
(d) in section 142 (acting in aid of other courts), by deleting “Northern Ireland, England and Wales, Scotland,”.
	Registration of insolvency judgments	4. (1) A request by a liquidator under Article 22 that the judgment opening the insolvency proceedings be registered in a public register shall be made to the person or authority responsible for keeping the register concerned.
(2) Section 69 (burdens which may be registered as affecting registered land) of the Registration of Title Act 1964 is amended in subsection (1) by the insertion of the following paragraph after paragraph (r):
“(rr) a judgment opening the proceedings referred to in Article 3(1) of Council Regulation (EC) No 1346/2000 1 of 29 May 2000 on insolvency proceedings,”.
	Enforcement in State of insolvency judgments	5. (1) In this Regulation -
“Brussels 1 Regulation” means Council Regulation (EC) No. 44/2001 of 22 December 2000 1 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in civil and commercial matters;
“insolvency judgment” means a judgment referred to in Article 25 of the Insolvency Regulation;
and, except where the context otherwise requires, references to numbered Articles are references to Articles so numbered of the Brussels 1 Regulation.
(2) Having regard to Article 68 of the Brussels 1 Regulation, references in Article 25 of the Insolvency Regulation to enforcement of insolvency judgments in accordance with certain Articles of the Brussels Convention are to be read as references to enforcement of those judgments in accordance with Articles 38 to 58 of the Brussels 1 Regulation.
(3) An application under the Brussels 1 Regulation for the enforcement in the State of an insolvency judgment shall be made to the Master of the High Court.
(4) The Master shall determine the application by order in accordance with the Brussels 1 Regulation.
(5) The Master shall declare the insolvency judgment enforceable immediately on completion of the formalities provided for in Article 53 without any review under Articles 34 and 35 and shall make an enforcement order in relation to the judgment.
(6) An order under paragraph (5) of this Regulation may provide for the enforcement of only part of the insolvency judgment concerned.
(7) An application to the Master under Article 39 for an enforcement order in respect of an insolvency judgment may include an application for any preservation measures the High Court has power to grant in proceedings that, apart from these Regulations, are within its jurisdiction.
(8) Where an enforcement order is made, the Master shall grant any such preservation measures so applied...