Rebecca Parry and Sharif Shivji
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- March 2021
- ISBN:
- 9780198793403
- eISBN:
- 9780191927836
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198793403.003.0006
- Subject:
- Law, Company and Commercial Law
Sections 238 (corporate insolvency) and 339 (bankruptcy) target gifts, transfers for no or insufficient consideration, and transactions with a gift element entered into by the debtor on the eve of ...
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Sections 238 (corporate insolvency) and 339 (bankruptcy) target gifts, transfers for no or insufficient consideration, and transactions with a gift element entered into by the debtor on the eve of insolvency, to the detriment of creditors. The sections themselves are relatively straightforward in operation. The main conditions for challenging a transaction are that (a) the debtor either received no consideration or received consideration of a value significantly less than the consideration he gave (in bankruptcy the section also operates where a transaction has been entered in consideration of marriage); and (b) the transaction must have been entered into at a ‘relevant time’ which consists of two elements: the transaction must have taken place within a particular time period occurring immediately prior to insolvency, and it must also be established that the transacting party was insolvent at the time of the transaction or as a result of it. In corporate insolvency cases, a defence is available where the transaction was entered into in the reasonable belief that it would benefit the company. The simplicity of these provisions makes them a powerful weapon for office holders, as does the fact that the burden of proof shifts in favour of the officeholder where
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Sections 238 (corporate insolvency) and 339 (bankruptcy) target gifts, transfers for no or insufficient consideration, and transactions with a gift element entered into by the debtor on the eve of insolvency, to the detriment of creditors. The sections themselves are relatively straightforward in operation. The main conditions for challenging a transaction are that (a) the debtor either received no consideration or received consideration of a value significantly less than the consideration he gave (in bankruptcy the section also operates where a transaction has been entered in consideration of marriage); and (b) the transaction must have been entered into at a ‘relevant time’ which consists of two elements: the transaction must have taken place within a particular time period occurring immediately prior to insolvency, and it must also be established that the transacting party was insolvent at the time of the transaction or as a result of it. In corporate insolvency cases, a defence is available where the transaction was entered into in the reasonable belief that it would benefit the company. The simplicity of these provisions makes them a powerful weapon for office holders, as does the fact that the burden of proof shifts in favour of the officeholder where
