Ordering Sale of Foreign Property

Pollard v Ashurst (TLR 29 November CA)

Mr Pollard, who was made bankrupt in England in 1993 owned real property in Portugal jointly with his wife. Under the Insolvency Act 1986, the bankrupt’s estate vested in the trustee immediately upon his appointment taking effect, and any property comprised in the bankrupt’s estate vested in the trustee without any conveyance, assignment or transfer. Therefore under the Insolvency Act, Mr Pollard’s joint ownership interest in the Portuguese property formed part of his estate for bankruptcy purposes and vested automatically in the trustee on his appointment, without the need for any further formalities. However, the vesting provisions of the Act plainly could not effect a change in the Portuguese register of tide, which continued to record Mr and Mrs Pollard as the joint owners of the property. Article 1 of the Convention on Jurisdiction and Enforcement of Judgments in Civil and Commercial Matters 1968 does not apply to ‘bankruptcy … and analogous proceedings’, whilst Article 16 confers exclusive jurisdiction in proceedings which have as their object rights in rem in immovable properties on the country in which the property is situated. Did therefore the English court have jurisdiction to order the sale of the property?