I move amendment No. j1:
In page 11, line 37, to delete "£500" and substitute "£1,000".
This is to keep in line with amendments already made.
SECTION 15.
Amendment agreed to.
Question proposed: "That section 15, as amended, stand part of the Bill."
I will say a word about the section just for the record. The section deals with adjudication on the debtor's own petition. It provides that the court on a petition presented by a debtor at any time will adjudicate him on proof that he is unable to meet his liabilities and his estate is sufficient to realise £1,000 at least. It re-enacts and amends existing law which is at present in the rules. The assets of the petitioning debtor must now be worth at least £1,000. The figure at present is £300. The bankruptcy committee's view that the present figure of £300 was too high was not accepted. On the contrary, in the light of the cost of bankruptcy it is considered too low. The figure now chosen is the same as the minimum amount of the petitioning creditor's debt. A debtor has an unqualified right under the 1857 Act to petition for his own adjudication and unless it is apparent that the court has no jurisdiction or that the petition amounts to an abuse of process, an adjudication order will be made. The Court of Bankruptcy being a court of equity and a court of law has a certain discretion. Accordingly, even though it can adjudicate a debtor already adjudicated abroad, it can refuse to do so. Also, if the debtor's connection is so slight that it would be unreasonable or inconvenient to adjudicate him, it can decline jurisdiction. It is not an abuse of process to petition for one's own adjudication in order to avoid committal proceedings. This appears to be the principal purpose behind self-adjudication.
Question put and agreed to.