ABSTRACT

The public examination under s 290 of the Insolvency Act 1986 is a more draconian exercise than a court hearing under s 366. Public examination was first introduced by s 19 of the Bankruptcy Act 1869, which provided: ‘the bankrupt ... shall produce a statement of his affairs to the first meeting of creditors and shall be publicly examined thereon on a day to be named by the court, and subject to such adjourned public examination as the court may direct.’ This was re-enacted in the 1883 Act and carried into the 1914 Act with amendments which made it clear that the bankrupt could be examined as to ‘his conduct, dealings and property’. A bankrupt was, until 1976, compelled to undergo a public examination into the circumstances surrounding the bankruptcy before he or she could be discharged; the requirement of public examination was probably one factor leading to a large number of bankrupts never seeking their discharge. The public examination is no longer compulsory and now requires an order of the court. Application for such an examination must come from the Official Receiver, but if half in value of the creditors request it, an application must be made. Robert Walker LJ in Arora v Brewster & Johnson57 observed that such an examination is most commonly ordered when a bankrupt has declined to co-operate with the insolvency authorities.