(This note is not part of the Order)
This Order brings the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 (“the 2005 Order”) into operation on 27 March 2006.
The main features of the 2005 Order are the replacement of the provisions relating to the procedure of administration under Part III of the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989, the prohibition (subject to certain exceptions) on the appointment of administrative receivers, the abolition of Crown preference and the creation out of assets subject to a floating charge of a fund for the benefit of unsecured creditors, the reduction in the period of bankruptcy for those bankrupts who co-operate with the Official Receiver from three years to a maximum of one year, the introduction of a procedure under which the court may make an order imposing restrictions on bankrupts who have been guilty of misconduct and provisions allowing the official receiver to act in certain types of individual voluntary arrangements.
Transitional provisions in connection with the coming into operation of the Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 are contained in the Insolvency (2005 Order) (Transitional Provisions and Savings) Order (Northern Ireland) 2006 (S.R. 2006 No. 22).