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The Government gazetted today (April 30) the Bankruptcy (Amendment) Bill 2015 (the Bill) to introduce new arrangements under the Bankruptcy Ordinance (Cap.6) (BO) to encourage bankrupts to fulfil their obligations in respect of the administration of bankruptcy estate by trustee-in-bankruptcy (TIB) and to better protect the interests of creditors.
"Under the new arrangements, the court will be provided with discretion to determine, on application by a TIB on grounds that a bankrupt has failed to complete an initial interview and thereby caused prejudice to the administration of the bankrupt's estate, whether the period counted towards the discharge from bankruptcy should be treated as not commencing to run until the bankrupt meets the relevant terms specified by the court when making such determination," a spokesman for the Financial Services and the Treasury Bureau said.
"The court may take into account all relevant factors in individual cases and any representations by the bankrupt concerned before making a determination," the spokesman added.
The new arrangements will replace the existing automatic mechanism under the BO for suspending the period counting towards a bankrupt's discharge from bankruptcy under specified circumstances when the bankrupt has left Hong Kong. In an earlier court case, the Court of Final Appeal ruled that the restraint imposed by the existing automatic mechanism for suspension of the relevant period on the bankrupt's right to travel was more than necessary for the protection of the rights of creditors, in particular that it did not take into account whether the bankrupt's absence from Hong Kong caused prejudice to the administration of the bankrupt's estate, and that the court did not have discretion in the matter.
Currently, the BO provides that a bankrupt will be discharged from bankruptcy upon the expiry of a period of four years for first-time bankrupts (or five years for repeat bankrupts), or up to a total of eight years if the court makes such a determination in considering an objection to the discharge of the bankrupt filed by the TIB or creditors. On the other hand, the BO also provides for an automatic mechanism to suspend the period counted towards a bankrupt's discharge from bankruptcy under specified circumstances when the bankrupt has left Hong Kong.
The Bill will be introduced into the Legislative Council for first and second readings on May 13.
Ends/Thursday, April 30, 2015
Issued at HKT 13:02
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