Can I Manage A Company Following Disqualification? | Kangs Solicitors
Previous articles concerning the removal of directors from office and the consequences of disqualification appear on Kangs Solicitors website.
Some examples are shown below:
- A Company's Statutory Obligations | Director Disqualification
- Director Disqualification Orders and Undertakings | Solicitors Defending Company Directors
- Company Director Disqualification Proceedings | New Financial Penalties
S.17 of the Company Directors Disqualification Act 1986 (‘the Act’) makes provision for an application to the Court by an individual who has been disqualified and who seeks leave to be involved in the management of a company.
Disqualification Following Conviction | S.6 Unfitness | Kangs Criminal Team
S.6 of the Act provides that:
(a) The court shall make a disqualification order against a person in any case where, on an application under this section, it is satisfied -
(b) that his conduct as a director of that company (either taken alone or taken together with his conduct as a director of any other company or companies) makes him unfit to be concerned in the management of a company.
Re Liberty Holdings Unlimited; Re Copperidge Developments Ltd; Subnom Owen v Secretary of State for Business Inovation and Skills
In this case an individual had been convicted of three offences of falsifying accounts resulting in a custodial sentence, a Confiscation Order and Disqualification from acting as a director for seven years.
He sought the Court’s permission to be involved as director of two companies.
The Secretary of State for Business Innovation and Skills submitted that because the disqualification followed conviction permission should not be granted.
The Court decided that the application should be treated like any other application for permission and, in allowing the application, held that the exceptional circumstances of the case enabled it to do so.
What Will The Court Consider? | Kangs Director Disqualification Advisors
The Court:
- has to give careful consideration to the purpose of the criminal proceedings which are punitive and the disqualification which is essentially concerned with public protection.
- will look very carefully at the specific facts of each individual application. A disqualification order has civil consequences different in nature to other criminal sanctions and it should not be used as a further punishment. The seriousness of the offence will however, be taken into account.
- will exercise its discretion taking into account all relevant facts and circumstances and conduct a balancing exercise between the need for the applicant to be involved in the management of the company against the need to protect the public.
Making An Application | How Can Kangs Solicitors Help?
To make a successful application evidence in support is crucial and needs to address the relevant issues. Just because a disqualification has followed from a conviction does not mean that an application will fail.
Please feel free to contact our team through any of the following:
Hamraj Kang
hkang@kangssolicitors.co.uk
07976 258171 | 020 7936 6396 | 0121 449 9888
John Veale
jveale@kangssolicitors.co.uk
0121 449 9888 | 020 7936 6396
Tim Thompson
tthompson@kangssolicitors.co.uk
0121 449 9888 | 020 7936 6396 | 07710 67 77 67
