5.—(1) The court may make a disqualification order against a person where he is convicted of an offence punishable only on conviction on indictment or either on conviction on indictment or on summary conviction (whether on indictment or on summary conviction) in connection with the promotion, formation, management orliquidation of a company, or with the receivership or management of a company’s property.
(2) “The court” for this purpose means—
(a)the High Court, or
(b)the court by or before which the person is convicted of the offence, or
(c)in the case of a summary conviction, any other court of summary jurisdiction acting for the same petty sessions district.
(3) The maximum period of disqualification under this Article is—
(a)where the disqualification order is made by a court of summary jurisdiction, 5 years, and
(b)in any other case, 15 years.
6.—(1) The High Court may make a disqualification order against a person where it appears to it that he has been persistently in default in relation to provisions of the companies legislation requiring anyreturn, account or other document to be filed with, delivered or sent, or notice of any matter to be given, to the registrar.
(2) On an application to the High Court for an order to be made under this Article, the fact that a person has been persistently in default in relation to such provisions as are mentioned in paragraph (1) may (without prejudice to its proof in any other manner) be conclusively proved by showing that in the 5 years ending with the date of the application he has been adjudged guilty (whether or not on the same occasion) of 3 or more defaults in relation to those provisions.
(3) A person is to be treated under paragraph (2) as being adjudged guilty of a default in relation to any such provision if—
(a)he is convicted (whether on indictment or on summary conviction) of an offence consisting in a contravention of that provision (whether on his own part or on the part of any company), or
(b)a default order is made against him, that is to say an order under any of the following provisions—
(i)Article 252 of the Companies Order (order requiring delivery of company accounts),
(ii)Article 662 of the Companies Order (enforcement of company’s duty to make returns),
(iii)Article 51 of the Insolvency Order (enforcement of receiver’s or manager’s duty to make returns), or
(iv)Article 144 of the Insolvency Order (corresponding provision for liquidator in winding up),
in respect of any such contravention of that provision (whether on his own part or on the part of any company).
(4) The maximum period of disqualification under this Article is 5 years.
7.—(1) The High Court may make a disqualification order against a person if, in the course of the winding up of a company, it appears that he—
(a)has been guilty of an offence for which he is liable (whether he has been convicted or not) under Article 451 of the Companies Order (fraudulent trading), or
(b)has otherwise been guilty, while an officer or liquidator of the company or receiver or manager of its property, of any fraud in relation to the company or of any breach of his duty as such officer, liquidator, receiver or manager.
(2) In this Article “officer” includes a shadow director.
(3) The maximum period of disqualification under this Article is 15 years.
8.—(1) An offence counting for the purposes of this Article is one of which a person is convicted (either on indictment or on summary conviction) in consequence of a contravention of any provision of the companies legislation requiring a return, account or other document to be filed with, delivered or sent, or notice of any matter to be given, to the registrar (whether the contravention is on the person’s own part or on the part of any company).
(2) Where a person is convicted by a court of summary jurisdiction of an offence mentioned in paragraph (1), the court by which he is convicted, or any other court of summary jurisdiction acting for the same petty sessions district, may make a disqualification order against him if the circumstances specified in paragraph (3) are present.
(3) Those circumstances are that, during the 5 years ending with the date of the conviction, the person has had made against him, or has been convicted of, in total not less than 3 default orders and offences counting for the purposes of this Article and those offences may include that of which he is convicted as mentioned in paragraph (2) and any other offence of which he is convicted on the same occasion.
(4) For the purposes of this Article “default order” means the same as in Article 6(3)(b).
(5) The maximum period of disqualification under this Article is 5 years.