264. Who may present a bankruptcy petition265. Conditions to be satisfied in respect of debtor(1) A petition for a bankruptcy order to be made against an individual may be presented to the court n accordance with the following provisions of this Part -
(a) by one of the individual's creditors or jointly by more than one of them,
(b) by the individual himself,
by the supervisor of, or any person (other than the individual) who is for the time being bound by, a voluntary arrangement proposed by the individual an approved under Part VIII, or
(d) where a criminal bankruptcy order has been made against the individual, by the Official Petitioner or by any person specified in the order in pursuance of section 39(3)(b) of the Powers of Criminal Courts Acts 1973.
(2) Subject to those provisions, the court may make a bankruptcy order on any such petition.
266. Other preliminary conditions(1) A bankruptcy petition shall not be presented to the court under section 264(1)(a) or (b) unless the debtor -
(a) is domiciled in England and Wales,
(b) is personally present in England and Wales on the day on which the petition is presented, or
at any time in the period of 3 years ending with that day -
(i) has been ordinarily resident, or has had a place of residence, in England and Wales, or
(ii) has carried on business in England and Wales.
(2) The reference in subsection (1)(c) to an individual carrying on business includes -
(a) the carrying on of business by a firm or partnership of which the individual is a member, and
(b) the carrying on of business by an agent or manager for the individual or for such a firm or partnership.
(1) Where a bankruptcy petition relating to an individual is presented by a person who is entitled to present a petition under two or more paragraphs of section 264(1), the petition is to be treated for the purposes of this Part as a petition under such one of those paragraphs as may be specified in the petition.
(2) A bankruptcy petition shall not be withdrawn without the leave of the court.
(3) The court has a general power, if it appears to it appropriate to do so on the grounds that there has been a contravention of the rules or for any other reason, to dismiss a bankruptcy petition or to stay proceedings on such a petition; and, where it stays proceedings on a petition, it may do so on such terms and conditions as it thinks fit.
(4) Without prejudice to subsection (3), where a petition under section 264(1)(a), (b) or in respect of an individual is pending at a time when a criminal bankruptcy order is made against him, or is presented after such an order has been so made, the court may on the application of the Official Petitioner dismiss the petition if it appears to it appropriate to do so.
Creditor's petition 267. Grounds of creditor's petition
268. Definition of "inability to pay", etc; the statutory demand(1) A creditor's petition must be in respect of one or more debts owed by the debtor, and the petitioning creditor or each of the petitioning creditors must be a person to whom the debt or (as the case may be) at least one of the debts is owed.
(2) Subject to the next three sections, a creditor's petition may be presented to the court in respect of a debt or debts only if, at the time the petition is presented -
(a) the amount of the debt, or the aggregate amount of the debts, is equal to or exceeds the bankruptcy level,
(b) the debt, or each of the debts, is for a liquidated sum payable to the petitioning creditor, or one or more of the petitioning creditors, either immediately or at some certain, future time, and is unsecured.
the debt, or each of the debts, is a debt which the debtor appears to be unable to pay or to have no reasonable prospect of being able to pay, and
(d) there is no outstanding application to set aside a statutory demand served (under section 268 below) in respect of the debt or any of the debts.
(3) A debt is not to be regarded for the purposes of subsection (2) as a debtor for a liquidated sum by reason only that the amount of the debt is specified in a criminal bankruptcy order.
(4) "The bankruptcy level" is œ750; but the Secretary of State may by order in a statutory instrument substitute any amount specified in the order for that amount or (as the case may be) for the amount which by virtue of such an order is for the time being the amount of the bankruptcy level.
(5) An order shall not be made under subsection (4) unless a draft of it has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.
269. Creditor with security(1) For the purposes of section 267(2) (c), the debtor appears to be unable to pay a debt if, but only if, the debt is payable immediately and either -
(a) the petitioning creditor to whom the diet is owed has served on the debtor a demand (known as "the statutory demand") in the prescribed form requiring him to pay the debt or to secure or compound for it to the satisfaction of the creditor, at least 3 weeks have elapsed since the demand was served and the demand has been neither complied with nor set aside in accordance with the rules, or
(b) execution or other process issued in respect of the debt of a judgment or order of any court in favour of the petitioning creditor, or one or more of the petitioning creditors to whom the debt is owed, has been returned unsatisfied in whole or in part.
(2) For the purposes of 267(2)(c) the debtor appears to have no reasonable prospect of being able to pay the debt if, but only if, the debt is not immediately payable and -
(a) the petitioning creditor to whom it is owed has served on the debtor a demand (also known as "the statutory demand") in the prescribed form requiring him to establish to the satisfaction of the creditor that there is a reasonable prospect that the debtor will be able to pay the debt when it falls due.
(b) at least 3 weeks have elapsed since the demand was served, and
the demand has been neither complied with nor set aside in accordance with the rules.
(1) A debt which is the debt, or one of the debts, in respect of which a creditor's petition is presented need not be unsecured if either -
(a) the petition contains a statement by the person having the right to enforce the security that he is willing, in the event of a bankruptcy order being made, to give up his security for the benefit of all the bankrupt's creditors, or
(b) the petition is expressed not to be made in respect of the secured part of the debt and contains a statement by that person of the estimated value at the date of the petition of the security for the secured part of the debt.
(2) In a case falling within subsection (1)(b) the secured and unsecured parts of the debt are to be treated for the purposes of sections 267 to 270 as separate debts.