PART I

Preliminary and General

1. —This Act may be cited as the Bankruptcy Act, 1988.

2. —This Act shall come into operation on such day not later than 1 January, 1989 as the Minister by order appoints.

3. —In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—

“adjudication” means adjudication in bankruptcy;

“after-acquired property” has the meaning assigned to it by section 44 (5);

“arrangement” means an arrangement in pursuance of an order for protection under Part IV ;

“arranging debtor” means a debtor who has been granted an order for protection under Part IV ;

“assignees” means the Official Assignee and the creditors' assignee, if any;

“the Bankruptcy Inspector” means the inspector referred to in section 60 (2);

“bankruptcy summons” has the meaning assigned to it by section 8 (1);

“conveyance”, in relation to land, includes assignment and transfer;

“the Court” means the High Court;

“creditors' assignee” means a person chosen and appointed as such under section 18 (1);

“land” includes any estate or interest in or charge over land;

“the Minister” means the Minister for Justice;

“the Official Assignee” means the Official Assignee in Bankruptcy for the time being and his successors as and when appointed;

“prescribed”, except in relation to court fees, means prescribed by rules of court;

“property” includes money, goods, things in action, land and every description of property, whether real or personal and whether situate in the State or elsewhere; also obligations, easements, and every description of estate, interest, and profit, present or future, vested or contingent, arising out of or incident to property as above defined;

“registered”, in relation to land, means registered in the Registry of Deeds or the Land Registry, as may be appropriate;

“secured creditor” means any creditor holding any mortgage, charge or lien on the debtor's estate or any part thereof as security for a debt due to him;

“vesting arrangement” has the meaning assigned to it by section 93 (2).

4. —(1) Save where otherwise provided in this Act, a bankruptcy or arrangement subsisting at the commencement of this Act shall thereafter be administered according to the provisions of this Act and the rules thereunder, without prejudice to the validity of anything duly done or suffered before such commencement.

(2) The provisions of this Act and the rules shall apply accordingly, so far as they are capable of application and subject to such modifications and adaptations as may be appropriate, as if the bankrupt had been adjudicated or the arranging debtor had been granted an order for protection under this Act.

5. —The expenses incurred by the Minister in the administration of this Act shall, to such extent as may be sanctioned by the Minister for Finance, be paid out of moneys provided by the Oireachtas.

6. —(1) The enactments mentioned in the Second Schedule are hereby repealed to the extent mentioned in the third column of that Schedule.

(2) Any petition, summons, subpoena, order, direction, notice or other instrument presented, served, made or issued under a repealed enactment and in force at the commencement of this Act shall continue in force and be treated thereafter as if it had been presented, served, made or issued under this Act.