The Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989

Grounds of creditor's petition N.I.

241.—(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 Articles 242 to 244, a creditor's petition may be presented to the High 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,

(c) the debt, or each of the debts, is a debt which the debtor appears either 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 Article 242) in respect of the debt or any of the debts.

(3) “The bankruptcy level” is [F1 £5,000]; but the Department may by order subject to affirmative resolution 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.

F1 Sum in art. 241(3) substituted (30.11.2016) by The Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 (Amendment) Order (Northern Ireland) 2016 (S.R. 2016/369), arts. 1, 2 (with art. 3)