New bankruptcy laws coming

Cabinet has agreed to send this new Bill to Parliament, he told a post-Cabinet news conference at Whitehall.

Enill justified the new Bill by revealing that Trinidad and Tobago’s current insolvency and bankruptcy law dates back to 1916, having been based on British laws from 1838 and 1914.

“Quite frankly, it fails to meet the needs of the society that is expanding at the rate our society is expanding.” Offers of credit and low-interest rates, he said, had changed our social and economic landscape.

Other countries like UK, Canada, Australia, Singapore and Barbados in the past 20 years had made major changes in their insolvency/bankruptcy laws.

Asked why the Government was bringing such a law in these times of economic buoyancy, he replied, “As you have more opportunities for business, you have more opportunities for failure.”

He said a new, single statute would govern both individuals and companies.

“The law has a modern simplified delivery of insolvency services, support for small individual businesses which may find themselves in difficulties, fixing priorities, and protection of key sectors.”

He emphasised, “It facilitates the recovery of companies.”

The Bill deals with the risks of doing business in a fast-growing economy, and facilitates the orderly conduct of the affairs of individuals and corporations by a set of rules that will allow the institutions the best chance of survival.