Bankruptcy (Scotland) Act 1985

74 Meaning of "associate"

(1) Subject to subsection (7) below, for the purposes of this Act any question whether a person is an associate of another person shall be determined in accordance with the following provisions of this section (any reference, whether in those provisions or in regulations under the said subsection (7), to a person being an associate of another person being taken to be a reference to their being associates of each other).

(2) A person is an associate of an individual if that person is the individual's husband or wife, or is a relative, or the husband or wife of a relative, of the individual or of the individual's husband or wife.

(3) A person is an associate of any person with whom he is in partnership, and of the husband or wife Or a relative of any individual with whom he is in partnership; and a firm is an associate of any person who is a member of the firm.

(4) For the purposes of this section a person is a relative of an individual if he is that individual's brother, sister, uncle, aunt, nephew, niece, lineal ancestor or lineal descendant treating—

(a) any relationship of the half blood as a relationship of the whole blood and the stepchild or adopted child of any person as his child ; and

(b) an illegitimate child as the legitimate child of his mother and reputed father,

and references in this section to a husband or wife include a former husband or wife and a reputed husband or wife.

(5) A person is an associate of any person whom he employs or by whom he is employed; and for the purposes of this subsection any director or other officer of a company shall be treated as employed by that company.

(6) In subsection (5) above, " company " includes any body corporate (whether incorporated in Great Britain or elsewhere).

(7) The Secretary of State may by regulations—

(a) amend the foregoing provisions of this section so as to provide further categories of persons who, for the purposes of this Act, are to be associates of other persons ; and

(b) provide that any or all of subsections (2) to (6) above (or any subsection added by virtue of paragraph (a) above) shall cease to apply, whether in whole or in part, or shall apply subject to such modifications as he may specify in the regulations;

and he may in the regulations make such incidental or transitional provision as he considers appropriate.