{
  "url": "https://openlegislation.uk/insolvency-northern-ireland-order-1989/article-208",
  "json_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/insolvency-northern-ireland-order-1989/article-208.json",
  "legislation": "nisi/1989/2405",
  "legislation_title": "The Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989",
  "legislation_url": "https://openlegislation.uk/insolvency-northern-ireland-order-1989",
  "path": "article/208",
  "kind": "article",
  "number": "208",
  "heading": "Unenforceability of liens on books, etc.",
  "text": "(1) This Article applies in the case of a company where—\n(a) the company enters administration, or\n(b) the company goes into liquidation, or\n(c) a provisional liquidator is appointed;\nand the office‐holder means the administrator, the liquidator or the provisional liquidator, as the case may be.\n(2) Subject to paragraph (3), a lien or other right to retain possession of any of the books, papers or other records of the company is unenforceable to the extent that its enforcement would deny possession of any books, papers or other records to the office‐holder.\n(3) Paragraph (2) does not apply to a lien on documents which give a title to property and are held as such.",
  "extent": "N.I.",
  "status": null,
  "version": "current",
  "annotations": [
    {
      "type": "F",
      "label": "F1",
      "text": "Art. 208(1)(a) substituted (27.3.2006) by Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/1455 (N.I. 10)), arts. 1(3), 3(3), Sch. 2 para. 41 (with art. 4); S.R. 2006/21, art. 2 (with S.R. 2006/22, arts. 2 - 7)"
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C1",
      "text": "Art. 208 applied (with modifications) (4.1.2024) by S.I. 2021/716, reg. 37A (as inserted by The Payment and Electronic Money Institution Insolvency (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1399), regs. 1(2), 12)"
    },
    {
      "type": "C",
      "label": "C2",
      "text": "Pt. 7 applied (with modifications) (4.1.2024) by S.I. 2021/716, Sch. 1A para. 3 (as inserted by The Payment and Electronic Money Institution Insolvency (Amendment) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/1399), reg. 1(2), Sch. 1)"
    }
  ],
  "outstanding_effects": [],
  "provenance": {
    "source": "legislation.gov.uk",
    "source_url": "https://www.legislation.gov.uk/nisi/1989/2405/article/208",
    "retrieved_at": "2026-10-29T04:47:04.938020+00:00"
  },
  "licence": "Open Government Licence v3.0",
  "licence_url": "https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/",
  "attribution": "Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives."
}