Lord Wolfson, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, has approved and signed a temporary Insolvency Practice Direction (TIPD) on behalf of the Lord Chancellor. The TIPD comes into force on 1 April 2021.
It replaces and extends the previous TIPD, which expires on 31 March 2021. There is no change to the procedures that are currently being followed for insolvency hearings or for the provisions in relation to administration appointments and statutory declarations.
Its purpose remains to assist court users during the continuing COVID-19 pandemic by avoiding the need for parties to attend court in person, and to deal with some of the problems arising from the need for the court(s) to operate with limited staff and resources. It continues to supplement the Practice Direction – Insolvency Proceedings July 2018 and applies to all insolvency proceedings in the Business and Property Courts subject to variations outside London as directed by the relevant supervising judge. Company work will be dealt with in a comparable way, and all adjourned hearings will be relisted within six weeks.
The TIPD has been drafted by Mr Justice Zacaroli, chair of the Insolvency Rules Committee, with Chief ICCJ Briggs and Mr Justice Snowden, both insolvency specialists. The final draft was approved and signed by the Chancellor of the High Court, Sir Julian Flaux, before being sent to the Lord Chancellor and Lord Wolfson.
