UK Offence Report

False representations, etc.

rule 1.24(1) of The Insolvency (Scotland) Rules 1986

This offence was read from the text as made, and no revised version was available, so a later revocation could not be ruled out. Check the current text at legislation.gov.uk.

What the provision says

1 A person being

a past or present officer of

a company commits an offence if he make any false representation or commits any other fraud for the purpose of obtaining the approval of the company's members or creditors to

a proposal for

a voluntary arrangement under Part I of the Act.

Text as made, from legislation.gov.uk. © Crown copyright, reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. This is the text as originally made; later amendments are not shown here.

Who it binds, and what has to be proved

Binds
a company
Conduct
making a false or misleading statement
Fault element
Requires proof of a state of mind
Burden of proof
No statutory defence — prosecution proves everything

The prosecution must prove both that the conduct happened and that it was done with the state of mind the provision names (for the purpose of obtaining).

The provision states no defence, so the prosecution bears the burden on every element of the offence.

Classifier’s reasoning: mens rea word in the offence-creating words: for the purpose of obtaining.

What would breach rule 1.24(1)?

These are illustrations, not law. They are generated from the provision’s own words to show the shape of the offence. Whether any particular conduct is caught depends on the full text, on any amendment since, and on the facts.

  1. Entering a figure on a form or return that is known to be wrong under the Insolvency (Scotland) Rules 1986.
  2. Leaving out something the form asks for, where the omission is what makes the answer misleading.
  3. Producing a document to an official that has been altered since it was issued.

Penalty

Mode of trial
Not determined
Maximum fine
Not determined
Maximum prison (summary)
Not determined

no penalty is stated in this instrument; it may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence.

No penalty was determined from this instrument. It may be in the enabling Act, or in a general penalties provision this pass did not connect to the offence. Absence of a figure here is not evidence that the offence carries no penalty.

Sentencing

Offences of this kind are usually sentenced under the guidelines below. This is a mapping by subject, not a finding about this provision, and the links go to a search of the Sentencing Council’s own site.

Prosecution figures

No published per-offence figure was found for this provision, and it could not be matched to a Ministry of Justice offence code. Offences created by statutory instrument very largely do not have one. Absence of a figure is not evidence that the offence is unused.

Status and lifecycle

Current status
Status not determined
Made
10 November 1986
In force from
29 December 1986
Extent
Not stated

How this was established: read from the text as made; no revised version available, so later revocation could not be ruled out.

What the instrument is for

(This note is not part of the Regulations) — the explanatory note published with the instrument, © Crown copyright.

(This Note does not form part of the Rules.) These Rules set out the detailed procedure for the conduct of insolvency proceedings under the Insolvency Act 1986 (“the Act”) relating to companies registered in Scotland and other companies which the Scottish courts have jurisdiction to wind up and otherwise give effect to that Act in relation to Scotland. Part 1 of the Rules sets out the procedure relating to company voluntary arrangements under Part I of the Act. Part 2 of the Rules sets out the procedure relating to the administration procedure in Part II of the Act (Administration Orders). Part 3 of the Rules sets out the procedure relating to receivers in Chapter II of Part III of the Act (Receivers (Scotland)). In addition, the Receivers (Scotland) Regulations 1986 (S.I. 1986/1917) prescribe matters which expressly fall to be prescribed in terms of that Chapter. Parts 4-6 of the Rules set out the procedure relating to winding up of companies in Part IV of the Act. Part 4 of the Rules deals with winding up by the court. Parts 5 and 6 of, and Schedules 1 and 2 to, the Rules apply the provisions of Part 4, with modifications, to creditors' voluntary winding up and members' voluntary winding up respectively. Part 7 of the Rules contains provisions of general application to insolvency proceedings. They include provisions relating to meetings (Chapter 1), proxies and company representation (Chapter 2) and miscellaneous matters (Chapter 3). In particular, Schedule 5 contains the forms which are to be used for the purposes of the provisions of the Act or the Rules which are referred to in those forms. The Rules come into force on 29th December 1986 when the Act comes into force and will apply to insolvency proceedings which are commenced on or after that day.

Read the full note and every offence in this instrument

What Parliament said

Mentions of this instrument in Hansard. Parliamentary material is reused under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0.

How this was identified as an offence

Everything above rests on the judgement that this provision creates a criminal offence, rather than mentioning one. That judgement is made by rule, from the words of the provision, and this is the rule that made it — with a confidence of 0.92.

Basis
the provision says a person “commits an offence”
Confidence
0.92 of 1.00

A provision that states a penalty for an offence created elsewhere can read very like one that creates an offence, and the rules can mistake the one for the other. If the text quoted above sets a penalty for something made an offence by another provision, treat the classification on this page with that in mind, and read the instrument.

Check the source