Amendments Nos. 64 and 65 are cognate and might be taken together.
SECTION 183.
I move amendment No. 64 :
In subsection (1), page 106, line 12, after " years " to insert " or to a fine not exceeding £500 or to both " and in lines 14 and 15 to delete " such imprisonment and fine ".
Amendments Nos. 64 and 65 are designed to bring penalties into line with those presented elsewhere in the Bill.
Amendment agreed to.
Question proposed : " That Section 183, as amended, stand part of the Bill."
This certainly seems a desirable provision though I have often wondered about the stringency of the law in regard to bankruptcy in other ways in connection with public representatives. It is hardly logical; but certainly in regard to commercial companies it is a logical provision.
What does an unregistered company mean under subsection (3) of the section?
There is no definition in the Bill of an unregistered company. It means, of course, a company which is not registered under this Act or under former Companies Acts. For example, it is permissible to form a company with 20 or fewer persons without registering it under the Companies Act. It is obviously desirable that undischarged bankrupts should not be permitted to be directors of such companies.
Does this qualify all undischarged bankrupts in Great Britain and Northern Ireland?
There is a definition of undischarged bankrupt in Section 2, in the latter half of page 21. It includes undischarged bankrupts under the law of England, Scotland or Northern Ireland.
Would there be any possibility of extending disqualification to cover other countries, having regard to the growth of international communication ?
This would present some drafting difficulty. I take it that we have little knowledge of bankruptcy law in other countries.
We can often be caught out by the chancy foreigner.
We have other means of detecting them. It can happen, of course, but they would not always succeed.
We learn by experience.
I think that sums it up.
Question put and agreed to.