Insolvency

It was settled law that receivers appointed under the Criminal Justice Act 1988 (CJA 1988) were officers of the court and subject to the supervision of the court. Receivers so appointed generally acted in accordance with the common law, save to the extent that CJA 1988 stipulated otherwise. It was an established common law principle that such a receiver ordinarily was entitled to look to the assets of the receivership estate to indemnify him for his remuneration, costs and expenses, and might have a lien over such assets for that purpose. Further, the right to an indemnity was not extinguished by discharge of the receivership order and the lien could continue to exist for that purpose after discharge. In addition, where a receivership order made under CJA 1988 was discharged, the receiver continued to be an officer of the court to the extent that he still had functions to perform with a view to a final conclusion of the administration of the receivership.