Civil way: 11 May 2018

• New Insolvency PD in force.

• CPR PD changes.

• Court of Appeal’s latest instalment.

COUNTY COURT SHOCK

The Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016 (SI 2016/1024) came into force on 6 April 2017 (see 'Civil way', NLJ 10 March 2017). But no new PD. In appreciation of the urgent need to issue one, it was published around one year later and came into force on the same day, to wit 25 April 2018. It reflects the 2016 rules and recently decided cases, changes to the CPR (particularly in relation to the Business and Property Courts PD) and specifies the revised arrangements for the distribution of insolvency business across the different judicial levels.

Here’s the Big One (para 3.7). Apart from uncontested or contested statutory demand applications, unopposed creditors’ winding up petitions and unopposed bankruptcy petitions (now labelled as ‘local business’), County Court hearing centres not located at a District Registry have been robbed of insolvency jurisdiction. They are required to transfer to a County Court with insolvency jurisdiction which is located