Bankruptcy begins with the making of the bankruptcy order which is published in the London Gazette and a local newspaper; as a result of which:
(i) the debtor becomes an undisharged bankrupt;
(ii) subject to exceptions, the official receiver becomes the receiver and manager of the bankrupts estate pending the appointment of a trustee in bankruptcy;
(iii) unsecured creditors lose their rights of action against the debtor and can only prove in the bankruptcy for the amounts owing to them;
(iv) the bankrupt commits an offence if he obtains credit of £250 or more without disclosing his status or by engaging, directly or indirectly, in any business under a name different to the one under which he was made bankrupt without disclosing that name to all persons with whom business is transacted.
(v) it is a criminal offence for the bankrupt to act as a director or take part in the management of a registered company without the courts consent.
Questions.
1. How does the trustee use the estate of an insolvent person?
2. What kind of a person can be made bankrupt?
3. By whom may the bankruptcy petition be presented?
4. What are the consequences of the bankruptcy order?
5. Where is the bankruptcy order published?
Find the following sentences in the text.
1) .
2) .
3) .
4) , 250 , .
Part II
Tort and Contract
Unit 8. The Law of Agency
Words to be remembered.
authority ,
principal ; ; ,
capacity
contractual capacity
agent ,
estate agent
to be bound ;
del credere (.) (
)
prior consent
subsequent consent ; ;
operation of law ; ;
agency of necessity
apparent authority ()
donee ; ,
by deed
breach (, , , )
warranty ; ,
|
|
|
purport ,
to be liable for ;
void ;
forgery ,
subsequent
contract of insurance
marine insurance
express
by implication ;
option
unequivocal ,
amount to -
legal nullity
revoke ; ;
Text for reading.
Definition of Agency
An agent has authority to act on behalf of another (the principal) to affect the legal position of the principal and a third party and does not need contractual capacity. Agents can be employees of the principal or independent contractors supplying specialist skills; companies may appoint other companies as their agents with responsibility for a particular market.
There is a difference between the legal and the commercial use of the term and many cases where the term agent or agency is used are not true agency. Thus car dealers may be described as being a manufacturers agents but they sell cars as principals, and a buyer has no rights against the manufacturer arising simply out of the purchase contract. Similarly, the granting of a sole agency for products is not a strictly an agency agreement since it prevents the manufacturer from selling the goods personally, which is not true in a genuine agency agreement. Estate agents are not normally agents in the legal sense since they have no authority to contract regarding properties which they are instructed to sell.
Types of Agent
There are four types of agent. Special agents have authority on specific occasions or for a specific purpose, such as signing cheques. The principal is only bound where the agent has actual authority. General agents have authority to act within certain limits. The best example is a general partner in a firm who is a general agent and can bind the firm and the other partners in contracts in the ordinary course of the business. The principal can be bound by acts within the usual authority of the agent. Universal agents have unlimited authority to act for the principal. Del credere agents, in return for a higher commission, are primarily responsible for payment in respect of contracts negotiated on behalf of the principal. The best example is an advertising agency.
