A Commissioner of Bankruptcy (England and Wales) was, from 1571 to 1883, an official appointed (initially by commission of the

Lord Chancellor The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. Th ...

) to administer the estate of a

bankrupt Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

with full power to dispose of all his lands and tenements.Commissioner of bankrupt. ''Oxford English Dictionary'', Oxford University Press, 2013 Bankrupts were defined as insolvent persons engaged in trade or business and kept distinct from other insolvents until 1861. The proceedings of that administration were the distribution of the property of an insolvent person to that person's creditors in proportion to the debts.

History

The first formal regulation of the distribution of the property of an insolvent person to that person's creditors was by the Statute of Bankrupts 1542. Administration was delegated to certain members of the Privy Council and the chief justices of King's Bench and

Common Pleas A court of common pleas is a common kind of court structure found in various common law jurisdictions. The form originated with the Court of Common Pleas at Westminster, which was created to permit individuals to press civil grievances against one ...

Commissioners of Bankrupts 1571–1883

1571–1831

Under the Bankrupts Act 1571 administration was passed to ''commissioners of bankrupts'' appointed by and superintended by the Lord Chancellor, or Lord Keeper. Their ''Office of the Commissioners of Bankrupts'' was attached to the

Court of Chancery The Court of Chancery was a court of equity in England and Wales that followed a set of loose rules to avoid a slow pace of change and possible harshness (or "inequity") of the common law. The Chancery had jurisdiction over all matters of equ ...

Court of Bankruptcy 1831–1883

A separate Court of Bankruptcy was established in 1831 under the Bankruptcy Court (England) Act 1831 to replace those commissioners. The court consisted of four judges and only six commissioners. A decade later district courts were established. People vesting all property in an official assignee could obtain protection from either courts. In 1861 the Court of Bankruptcy was confined to London and was afterwards known as the London Court of Bankruptcy. It was merged with the High Court by the

Bankruptcy Act 1883 Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...

Court for Relief of Insolvent Debtors 1842–1861

From 1842 under the

Bankruptcy Act 1842 Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the deb ...

persons not being a trader or being a trader and owing less than £300 could obtain the protection of the official assignee from this court in London or one of the district courts of bankruptcy. Jurisdiction of this court passed to the Court of Bankruptcy in

1861 Statistically, this year is considered the end of the whale oil industry and (in replacement) the beginning of the petroleum oil industry. Events January–March * January 1 ** Benito Juárez captures Mexico City. ** The first stea ...

High Court of Justice in Bankruptcy 1883—

The

transferred jurisdiction to the High Court and County Courts.

References

Sources

Covering note. Administrative / biographical background of The Records of the Office of the Commissioners of Bankrupts etc.
Insolvency law of the United Kingdom Legal professions 1571 establishments in England {{England-law-stub