Deeds of Arrangement Act 1914

3 Avoidance of deeds of arrangement unless assented to by a majority of the creditors

(1) A deed of arrangement, which either is expressed to be or is in fact for the benefit of a debtor's creditors generally, shall be void unless, before or within twenty-one days after the registration thereof, or within such extended time as the High Court or the court having jurisdiction in bankruptcy in the district in which the debtor resided or carried on business at the date of the execution of the deed may allow, it has received the assent of a majority in number and value of the creditors of the debtor.

(2) The list of creditors annexed to the affidavit of the debtor filed on the registration of the deed of arrangement shall be prima facie evidence of the names of the creditors and the amounts of their claims.

(3) The assent of a creditor for the purposes of subsection (1) of this section shall be established by his executing the deed of arrangement or sending to the trustee his assent in writing attested by a witness, but not otherwise.

(4) The trustee shall file with the Registrar of Bills of Sale at the time of the registration of a deed of arrangement, or, in the case of a deed of arrangement assented to after registration, within twenty-eight days after registration or within, such extended time as the High Court or the court having jurisdiction in bankruptcy in the district in which the debtor resided or carried on business at the date of the execution of the deed may allow, a statutory declaration by the trustee that the requisite majority of the creditors of the debtor have assented to the deed of arrangement, which declaration shall, in favour of a purchaser for value, be conclusive evidence, and, in other cases, be prima facie evidence, of the fact declared.

(5) In calculating a majority of creditors for the purposes of this section, a creditor holding security upon the property of the debtor shall be reckoned as a creditor only in respect of the balance (if any) due to him after deducting the value of such security, and creditors whose debts amount to sums not exceeding ten pounds shall be reckoned in the majority in value but not in the majority in number.