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DEEDS OF ARRANGEMENT ACT 1887
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CHAPTER LVII.
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An Act to provide for the Registration of Deeds of Arrangement. [16th September 1887.]
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Short title.
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1. This Act may be cited for all purposes as the Deeds of Arrangement Act, 1887.
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Extent of Act.
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2. This Act shall not extend to Scotland.
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[S. 3 rep. 8 Edw. 7. c. 49 (S.L.R.).]
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Application of Act.
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4.—(1) This Act shall apply to every Deed of Arrangement, as defined in this section, made after the commencement of this Act.
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(2) A Deed of Arrangement to which this Act applies shall include any of the following instruments, whether under seal or not, made by, for, or in respect of the affairs of a debtor for the benefit of his creditors generally (otherwise in pursuance of the law for the time being in force relating to bankruptcy), that is to say:—
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(a) An assignment of property;
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(b) A deed of or agreement for a composition;
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And in cases where creditors of a debtor obtain any control over his property or business:—
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(c) A deed of inspectorship entered into for the purpose of carrying on or winding up a business;
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(d) A letter of licence authorising the debtor or any other person to manage, carry on, realise, or dispose of a business, with a view to the payment of debts; and
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(e) Any agreement or instrument entered into for the purpose of carrying on or winding up the debtor’s business, or authorising the debtor or any other person to manage, carry on, realise, or dispose of the debtor’s business, with a view to the payment of his debts.
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Avoidance of unregistered deeds of arrangement.
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5. A Deed of Arrangement to which this Act applies shall be void unless the same shall have been registered under this Act within seven clear days after the first execution thereof by the debtor or any creditor, or if it is executed in any place out of England or Ireland respectively, then within seven clear days after the time at which it would, in the ordinary course of post, arrive in England or Ireland respectively, if posted within one week after the execution thereof, and unless the same shall bear such ordinary and ad valorem stamp as is under this Act provided.
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Mode of registration.
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6. The registration of a Deed of Arrangement under this Act shall be effected in the following manner:—
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(1) A true copy of the deed, and of every schedule or inventory thereto annexed, or therein referred to, shall be presented to and filed with the registrar within seven clear days after the execution of the said deed (in like manner as a bill of sale given by way of security for the payment of money is now required to be filed), together with an affidavit verifying the time of execution, and containing a description of the residence and occupation of the debtor, and of the place or places where his business is carried on, and an affidavit by the debtor stating the total estimated amount of property and liabilities included under the deed, the total amount of the composition (if any) payable thereunder, and the names and addresses of his creditors:
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(2) No deed shall be registered under this Act unless the original of such deed, duly stamped with the proper inland revenue duty, and in addition to such duty a stamp denoting a duty computed at the rate of one shilling for every hundred pounds or fraction of a hundred pounds of the sworn value of the property passing, or (where no property passes under the deed) the amount of composition payable under the deed, is produced to the registrar at the time of such registration.
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Form of register.
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7.[1]
The registrar shall keep a register wherein shall be entered, as soon as conveniently may be after the presentation of a deed for registration, an abstract of the contents of every Deed of Arrangement registered under this Act, containing the following and any other prescribed particulars:—
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(a) The date of the deed:
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(b) The name, address, and description of the debtor, and the place or places where his business is carried on, and the title of the firm or firms under which the debtor carries on business, and the name and address of the trustee (if any) under the deed:
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(c) A short statement of the nature and effect of the deed, and of the composition in the pound payable thereunder:
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(d) The date of registration:
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(e) The amount of property and liabilities included under the deed, as estimated by the debtor.
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Registrar and office for registration.
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8.—(1) The Registrar of Bills of Sale in England and Ireland respectively shall be the registrar for the purposes of this Act.
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(2) In England the Bills of Sale Department of the Central Office of the Supreme Court, and in Ireland the Bills of Sale Office of the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court, shall be the office for the registration of Deeds of Arrangement.
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Rectification of register.
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9. The Court or a Judge upon being satisfied that the omission to register a Deed of Arrangement within the time required by this Act or that the omission or mis-statement of the name, residence, or description of any person was accidental or due to inadvertence, or to some cause beyond the control of the debtor and not imputable to any negligence on his part, may on the application of any party interested, and on such terms and conditions as are just and expedient, extend the time for such registration, or order such omission or misstatement to be supplied or rectified by the insertion in the register of the true name, residence, or description.
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Time for registration.
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10. When the time for registering a Deed of Arrangement expires on a Sunday, or other day on which the registration office is closed, the registration shall be valid if made on the next following day on which the office is open.
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Office copies.
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11.[2]
Subject to the provisions of this Act, and to any rules made thereunder, any person shall be entitled to have an office copy of, or extract from, any deed registered under this Act upon paying for the same at the like rate as for office copies of judgments of the High Court, and any copy or extract purporting to be an office copy or extract shall, in all courts and before all arbitrators or other persons, be admitted as primâ facie evidence thereof, and of the fact and date of registration as shown thereon.
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Inspection of register and registered deeds.
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12.[1]
—(1) Any person shall be entitled, at all reasonable times, to search the register on payment of one shilling, or such other fee as may be prescribed, and subject to such regulations as may be prescribed, and shall be entitled, at all reasonable times, to inspect, examine, and make extracts from any registered Deed of Arrangement, without being required to make a written application or to specify any particulars in reference thereto, upon payment of one shilling, or such other fee as may be prescribed, for each Deed of Arrangement inspected.
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(2) Provided that the said extracts shall be limited to the dates of execution and of registration, the names, addresses, and descriptions of the debtor and of the parties to the deed, a short statement of the nature and effect of the deed, and any other prescribed particulars.
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Local registration of copy of deeds.
46 & 47 Vict. c. 52.
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13.—(1) When the place of business or residence of the debtor who is one of the parties to a Deed of Arrangement, or who is referred to therein, is situate in some place outside the London Bankruptcy District, as defined by the Bankruptcy Act, 1883, the registrar shall within three clear days after registration, and in accordance with the prescribed directions, transmit a copy of such deed to the registrar of the county court in the district of which such place of business or residence is situate.
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(2) Every copy so transmitted shall be filed, kept, and indexed by the registrar of the county court in the prescribed manner, and any person may search, inspect, make extracts from, and obtain copies of, the registered copy, in the like manner and upon the like terms, as to payment or otherwise, as near as may be, as in the case of deeds registered under this Act.
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(3) This section shall not apply to Ireland.
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Affidavits.
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14. Every affidavit required by or for the purposes of this Act may be sworn before a Master of the Supreme Court in England or Ireland, or before any person empowered to take affidavits in the Supreme Courts of England or Ireland.
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Fees.
38 & 39 Vict. c. 57.
40 & 41 Vict. c. 57.
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15.—(1)[2]
There shall be taken, in respect of the registration of Deeds of Arrangement, and in respect of any office copies or extracts, or official searches made by the registrar, such fees as may be from time to time prescribed; and nothing in this Act contained shall make it obligatory on the registrar to do, or permit to be done, any act in respect of which any fee is specified or prescribed, except on payment of such fee.
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(2) The twenty-sixth section of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act, 1875, as regards England, and the eighty-fourth section of the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland), 1877, as regards Ireland, and any enactments for the time being in force amending or substituted for those sections respectively shall apply to fees under this Act, and orders under those sections may, if need be, be made in relation to such fees accordingly.
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[S. 16 rep. 8 Edw. 7. c. 49 (S.L.R.).]
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Saving as to Bankruptcy Acts.
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17. Nothing contained in this Act shall be construed to repeal or shall affect any provision of the law for the time being in force in relation to bankruptcy, or shall give validity to any deed or instrument which by law is an act of bankruptcy, or void or voidable.
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Rules.
36 & 37 Vict. c. 66.
40 & 41 Vict. c. 57.
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18.[1]
—(1) Rules for carrying this Act into effect may be made, revoked, and altered from time to time by the like persons and in the like manner in which rules may be made under and for the purposes of the Supreme Court of Judicature Acts, 1873 to 1884, as regards England, and the Supreme Court of Judicature Act (Ireland), 1877, as regards Ireland.
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(2) Such rules as may be required for the purposes of this Act may be made at any time after the passing of this Act.
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Interpretation of terms.
46 & 47 Vict. c. 52.
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19. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
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“Court or a judge” means the High Court and any judge thereof;
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“Creditors generally” includes all creditors who may assent or take the benefit of a Deed of Arrangement;
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“Person” includes a body of persons corporate or unincorporate;
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“Prescribed” means prescribed by rules to be made under this Act;
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“Property” has the same meaning as the same expression has in the Bankruptcy Act, 1883;
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“Rules” includes forms.
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[1 Applied to documents and affidavits filed in pursuance of 53 & 54 Vict. c. 24; see s. 2 (6) of that Act.]
[2 Applied to documents and affidavits filed in the King’s Bench Division of the High Court under 53 & 54 Vict. c. 24; see s. 2 (8) of that Act.]
[1 Applied to documents and affidavits filed in the King’s Bench Division of the High Court under 53 & 54 Vict. c. 24; see s. 2 (8) of that Act.]
[2 Applied to documents filed in pursuance of 53 & 54 Vict. c. 24; see s. 2 (7) of that Act.]
[1 Applied to Rules of Court made under 53 & 54 Vict. c. 24; see s. 3 of that Act.] |
