Action of Arrest Act 1953

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AT 1 of 1953

ACTION OF ARREST ACT 1953

Action of Arrest Act 1953 Index


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c i e
ACTION OF ARREST ACT 1953

Index Section Page

1 Arrest of debtor about to leave Isle of Man ................................................................ 5
2 Abolition of action of arrest of goods .......................................................................... 6
3 Power under certain circumstances to arrest assets of debtor about to quit
the Isle of Man ................................................................................................................. 6
4 Order of arrest of assets ................................................................................................. 6
5 Duty of Coroner .............................................................................................................. 7
6 Bail .................................................................................................................................... 7
7 No preference by virtue of an Order ............................................................................ 7
8 Creditor to proceed with diligence .............................................................................. 7
9 Savings in respect of other remedies............................................................................ 8
10 Rules ................................................................................................................................. 8
11 Interpretation ................................................................................................................... 8
12 [Repealed] ........................................................................................................................ 8
13 Short title and citation .................................................................................................... 8
14 Commencement .............................................................................................................. 8
FIRST SCHEDULE 9

SECOND SCHEDULE 10

ENDNOTES 11

TABLE OF LEGISLATION HISTORY 11
TABLE OF RENUMBERED PROVISIONS 11
TABLE OF ENDNOTE REFERENCES 11

Action of Arrest Act 1953 Section 1


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c i e
ACTION OF ARREST ACT 1953

Received Royal Assent: 11 February 1953
Passed: 17 March 1953
Commenced: 17 March 1953
AN ACT
to abolish Chancery Arrests and substitute a different procedure.
GENERAL NOTE:
References to the “Chief Clerk
”, “Deputy Chief Clerk
” and “Rolls

Office
” are to be construed in accordance with the General Registry Act 1965.
1 Arrest of debtor about to leave Isle of Man

(1) Process in an action for the arrest of the person of a debtor shall be issued
by a Deemster on his being satisfied on the affidavit of the creditor or his
duly authorised agent that such creditor has a good cause of action
against the debtor and that the creditor has good grounds for supposing
that the debtor is about to depart from this Isle and remain absent
therefrom without settling the cause of action or binding himself
irrevocably to submit to the jurisdiction of Her Majesty’s High Court of
Justice of the Isle of Man with respect thereto.
(2) Process in an action of arrest shall be served upon the defendant by an
officer of Police, who shall thereby be empowered to arrest and detain
the person of the defendant subject to the provisions in this section
hereinafter contained.
(3) The defendant to an action of arrest shall only be held to bail to submit
himself irrevocably to the jurisdiction of Her Majesty’s High Court of
Justice of the Isle of Man in the matter of the cause of action in respect of
which such arrest has been granted and to enter an appearance in such
action.
(4) The defendant shall be released from arrest on filing in the General
Registry in accordance with rules of court an acknowledgment of service
and an undertaking in writing to submit himself irrevocably to the
jurisdiction of the court.1

(5) [Repealed]2

Section 2 Action of Arrest Act 1953


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2 Abolition of action of arrest of goods

Subject as aforesaid actions of arrest of goods for civil debts, contracts or
damages by virtue of any process issuing out of the Chancery Division and the
procedure relating thereto shall cease to have effect.
3 Power under certain circumstances to arrest assets of debtor about to

quit the Isle of Man

Where a debtor is about to leave the Isle of Man, or has left the Isle of Man, and
a creditor has a good cause of action against the debtor to the amount of twenty
pounds or upwards, and has probable cause for believing that the debtor is
removing, or intends to remove, from this Isle the whole, or a substantial part,
of his assets and has probable cause for believing that the debtor does not
intend to settle the cause of action —
(a) the Coroner of any Sheading where any of the assets of the debtor
may be situate, if authorised in writing by the creditor and upon
being satisfied of the bona fide intention of the creditor to apply
with all due diligence for an Order under paragraph (b) of this
Section, shall (taking with him the creditor or a representative of
the creditor) seize and secure the assets of the debtor within this
Isle (whether in the Coroner’s own Sheading or in any other
Sheading) and retain the same for a period of forty-eight hours
and no longer, to enable an Order of arrest to be obtained or the
settlement of the cause of action;
(b) the creditor may make an ex parte application by petition to the
Court praying for the seizure and appraisement of the assets of
the debtor within this Isle, supported by an affidavit setting out
the nature and particulars of the cause of the action against the
debtor and the grounds of application and verifying that the cause
of action is just and reasonable and that the absence of the
defendant from the Isle of Man will materially prejudice the
plaintiff in the prosecution of his action and the enforcement of
any execution or Order of the Court consequent upon such
proceedings.3

4 Order of arrest of assets

Upon consideration of the application and affidavit referred to in the preceding
section, and upon being satisfied of the matters stated in the affidavit and
referred to in paragraph (b) of clause three of this Act, the Court may make an
Order directing the Coroner of any Sheading where any of the assets of the
debtor may be situate to seize and appraise the assets of the debtor (whether in
the Coroner’s own Sheading or in any other Sheading) up to the amount
mentioned in the Order, to abide the future judgment of the High Court in any
proceedings taken, or to be taken, by the creditor against the debtor in respect of
the cause of action, or until further Order of the Court, or until the debtor has
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given security not exceeding the aforesaid amount mentioned in the Order, or
has settled the cause of action.
5 Duty of Coroner

Upon receipt of any Order the Coroner shall, by virtue of such Order, seize and
appraise such assets of the debtor and shall make a return to the court setting
out the particulars and value of the assets so seized and appraised, and shall
retain, secure and deal with such assets in accordance with the terms of any
Order of the Court; and shall be entitled to receive the same fees and charges as
are allowed in the case of an arrest for rent.
6 Bail

(1) Where the assets of a debtor shall be seized and appraised under an
Order, the debtor may deposit in Court the amount mentioned in the
Order, or, with one or more sureties, enter into a Bond to the creditor for
the amount mentioned in the Order, or, with the creditor’s consent, give
any other form of security. The creditor may, within four days after
receiving particulars of the names and addresses of the proposed
sureties, give notice that he objects thereto, stating in the notice
particulars of his objections. In such case, the sufficiency of the security
shall be determined by the Court, which shall have power to award costs
to either party. It shall be the duty of the creditor to obtain from the
Court the order for hearing for that purpose, and, unless he does so
within four days after giving notice of the objection, the security shall be
deemed to be sufficient.
(2) Upon the giving of sufficient security the assets of the debtor shall be
discharged from such seizure and appraisement, but the money
deposited and the security and all proceedings thereon shall be subject to
the Order and control of the Court, and, unless otherwise ordered, the
costs of and incidental to an Order shall be a first charge upon the assets
arrested.
7 No preference by virtue of an Order

From and after the issuing of any Order, and until the same shall be set aside or
superseded by the Court, or otherwise determined, no creditor of the debtor
shall be entitled to a preference for the payment of his debt out of the said assets
of the debtor save only for such debts as are of a preferable nature or as may
have obtained a preference by law previous to the issuing of such Order.
8 Creditor to proceed with diligence

Upon obtaining an Order, the creditor shall proceed with the cause of action
with all due diligence, and, if the creditor fails to do so, the Court may discharge
the Order and award costs to the debtor.
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9 Savings in respect of other remedies

The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to, and not in derogation of any
other remedy conferred upon the creditor by any Act, law or custom (other than
actions of arrest abolished by section two of this Act) and such other remedies
may be exercised in the same manner as if this Act had not been passed.
10 Rules

The power to make Rules of Court under the High Court Act 1991, shall include
the power to make rules for the purposes of this Act and the proceedings
thereunder and the fees payable in respect of proceedings under such Acts shall
apply to proceedings under this Act except in so far as Rules of Court may be
made under this section.4

11 Interpretation

In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires, the following expressions
have the meanings hereby respectively assigned to them —
“assets
” includes property available for the payment of debts but shall not
include property which is not divisible amongst creditors under
section 27 of the Bankruptcy Code 1892;5

“cause of action
” includes any action, suit or original proceeding between a
plaintiff and a defendant, but shall not include a criminal proceeding;
“coroner
” includes a lockman;
“Court
” means a High Court of Justice, Civil Division, Summary Jurisdiction,
sitting in Chambers;6

“creditor
” includes claimant in tort;
“debtor
” includes tort feasor;
“Order
” means an Order of the Court made under section four of this Act.
12 [Repealed]
7

13 Short title and citation

This Act may be cited as the Action of Arrest Act, 1953.
14 Commencement

This Act shall come into operation when the Royal Assent thereto has been by
the Governor announced to Tynwald and a Certificate thereof has been signed
by the Governor and the Speaker of the House of Keys.
Action of Arrest Act 1953 First Schedule



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FIRST SCHEDULE

Section 1(4)
FORM8

IN HER MAJESTY’S HIGH COURT OF JUSTICE
ISLE OF MAN
Civil Division
In the matter of............................................................Plaintiff
and
.................................................................................Defendant
I.......................................................................................................................................................
of....................................................................................................................................................
hereby submit myself irrevocably to the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court in the
above styled action and I hereby enter an appearance in such action. Any notice or
proceeding required to be served upon me in such action may be served by sending the
same addressed to me by prepaid registered post at..............................................................
This...................................... day of............................................................ 19.....................


Second Schedule
Action of Arrest Act 1953


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SECOND SCHEDULE
9

Action of Arrest Act 1953 Endnotes


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ENDNOTES

Table of Legislation History

Legislation Year and No Commencement






Table of Renumbered Provisions

Original Current






Table of Endnote References

1
Subs (4) substituted by SD352/09. 2
Subs (5) repealed by SD352/09. 3
S 3 amended by Preferential Payments and Other Acts (Financial Adjustments) Act
1973 s 3. 4
S 10 amended by High Court Act 1991 Sch 3. 5
Definition of ‘assets’ substituted by Bankruptcy Act 1988 s 3. 6
Definition of ‘Court’ amended by SD352/09. 7
S 12 repealed by Statute Law Revision Act 1983 Sch 2. 8
Form amended by SD352/09. 9
Sch 2 repealed by Statute Law Revision Act 1983 Sch 2.