INSOLVENCY 1. What do you understand by Bankruptcy? Bankruptcy is also referred to as the insolvency.

It means one unable to pay his debts. It has two conditions; 1. A person is to be debtor who does not have sufficient assets to pay off his debts, 2. He will do any act of insolvency. 2. What are the purposes of the law of bankruptcy? The purposes of the law are as under; Distribution of assets of the insolvent rationally, Settlement of all liabilities of the insolvent to make him liability free, To save the interest of creditors, New life starting of the insolvent. 3. Who may or may not be adjudged bankrupt? Or ~ There are certain institutions against which the court will not admit any petition under the Bankruptcy Act. You are required to list such institutions. Or ~ Which institutions are not subject to bankruptcy proceedings under the Bankruptcy Act, 1997? 4. Who declared insolvent/bankrupt: As per Section 11of the Bankruptcy Act, 1997 any person who; maintains his principal business office or is domiciled in Bangladesh, ordinary resided, had dwelling house, or place of business in Bangladesh at any time within a year immediately before filing of the plaint, generally carries on business in Bangladesh by agent. Who may not be declared insolvent/bankrupt: Any Govt. organization or judicial body, Any charitable or religious body, Such statutory bodies whose principal objective is not financial gain, Any autonomous body. 5. Who are official receivers? The Government keeps an approved list of persons as receivers who are to be involved in cases of Section 64 of the Bankruptcy Act, 1997. As per Section 64 of the Bankruptcy Act, 1997; the court appoints official receiver having general powers as conferred by Section 65 of the Act for administering the property of the insolvent. The court may itself act as an official receiver under Section 70 of the Act. 6. Can an infant be insolvent? No, an infant cannot be declared as an insolvent.

ALTRNATE DISPUTE RESOLUTION ADR - Alternative Dispute Resolution - is often mistakenly viewed by the novice as a single method of resolving disputes. It is in fact a collective term for a variety of available methods. Those methods have been increasing in number for many years, evolving to suit the multifarious needs of clients worldwide. There will

generally be one type of ADR which appears most suited to a particular dispute but where one fails another may successfully be used in its place. It is important to remember that ADR can operate regardless of whether a person has already been sued. Why call it alternative dispute resolution? Traditionally, resolving a dispute using lawyers meant having a trial. In other words, having a very expensive fight and using the judge as a referee. Alternative has therefore meant some other method than trial. Apart from being very expensive, the problem with a trial is that, when it is over, it is very difficult for the parties to pick up the pieces of whatever their relationship was before the litigation started. So, for example, even if there had been a long preexisting business relationship, it is unlikely that they will continue trading with each other after a lengthy piece of litigation. This will be bad for both parties because, regardless of who wins at trial, they will no longer be making money out of each other. There is no denying that, for some disputes, a trial is the most appropriate way of resolving the parties problems. Many lawyers observe that our role is not to find an alternative to court, because for many disputes trial remains the best means of resolution. Some now prefer to say that ADR should stand for Appropriate Dispute Resolution. THE TYPES OF ADR ADR comprises an array of specialist disciplines which continue to expand in number. Some methods arise by the merging of two others, while others are created for a specific purpose and then refined in practice according to emerging preferences. We can conveniently refer to two groups of methods. In the first the parties are free to decide whether or not to adopt the outcome which is reached. These are therefore called non-determinative or non- binding methods because the parties are not bound by the outcome. The most common are: 1. Mediation 2. Conciliation 3. Judicial Appraisal 4. Early Neutral Evaluation 5. Negotiation 6. Mini-trial ARBITRATION is a dispute resolution process that has become very popular amongst businessmen. Of all the alternative methods of dispute resolution, arbitration is closest in appearance to a trial. This is because witnesses give evidence orally and on paper, and counsel put forward arguments as to which side is correct. An arbitrator presides over the proceedings, rather than a judge. This may be a sole arbitrator or a panel of three or more; the parties are free to agree upon anyone they please e.g. businessman, engineer, or lawyer. Arbitration is an internationally recognised process. Arbitration can only take place if the parties have agreed to it. The agreement can be made before the dispute arises as a term

of a contract or part of standard trade association terms. Alternatively, parties can decide to submit to arbitration after the dispute arises. This essentially means: a.) The parties agree to Arbitration when they sign the main contract, because there is a term included in the main contract which says In case of a dispute arising out of or relating to this contract (main contract) the parties shall submit to arbitration (meaning thereby must have an arbitration proceedings this also means that there is no way they can go to court with the dispute.; and b.) If the parties say while signing the contract did not include in the contract a arbitration clause mentioned above in (a.) they can agree to sign another arbitration agreement and go for arbitration. This will be a separate agreement to the main but will be related ofcourse to the dispute arising out of the main agreement. Arbitration can be of two types : i.) Ad- hoc meaning however the parties agree usually in Bangladesh each party nominates a Arbitrator (this is the person who sits in position of a judge and this man can be a engineer a lawyer, expert in any particular field, ex-lawyer , ex- judge any person the party nominates ). After both the parties have nominated their own arbitrator, the two nominated arbitrator select a Chairman making the panel of three. Again this Chairman can be a ex-judge, lawyer or any expert in any particular field for example if it is a building contract then perhaps a builder or engineer. Usually such arbitrations take place in conference rooms of hotels. It is always best to select a neutral venue rather than opting for having the arbitration in a partys office. Institutional Arbitration. This means the parties can also go to an institution who will administer the whole arbitration process. This institute will take a fee and arrange for arbitrators and also assign a secretary for the arbitration and provide a room in their own office.

ii.)

Arbitration is, despite its apparent similarities to litigation, a swifter, simpler process. There is no right of the public or press to attend the procedure, so it has the advantage of privacy, which is very valuable where the parties are well known corporate bodies. Most important advantage is it is a quicker process of resolving a dispute than going to court which may take years and two is also gives confidentiality to clients who do not want their names to be in the media. A lot of big corporations ensure their goodwill is unharmed by opting for Arbitration. Principal disadvantages can sometimes be very expensive as arbitrators charge a lot of fee and if the arbitration is not time capped meaning if it is not agreed

between the parties that the process if going to end within a certain period then it may take a longer period and may over spill. In Bangladesh Arbitration Act 2001 is followed. Bangladesh International Arbitration Centre (BIAC- look at the website) is the only institutional arbitration centre in Bangladesh. It is fairly new and not yet so popular.