140.— (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, or any other enactment or rule of law, rules of court may, in relation to any proceedings under this Act before an appropriate court, make provision for—

(a) the lodgement or filing of a document with, and making of an application to, the court by transmitting the document or application by electronic means to the court office,

(b) the issue by the court or court office, by transmitting the document concerned by electronic means to an appropriate person, of any of the following:

(i) a summons, civil bill or other originating document,

(ii) a judgment, decree or other order or determination of a court (including any judgment, decree or other order or determination entered in or issuing from a court office), or

(iii) any other document required under this Act to be issued by or on behalf of the court or court office concerned,

or

(c) the transmission by the court or court office by electronic means of any other document or information required under this Act to be transmitted by or on behalf of a court or court office.

(2) Where rules of court referred to in subsection (1) provide for the transmission of a document by electronic means, such rules may, in addition:

(a) provide that such transmission is subject to such conditions and such exceptions as may be specified in the rules,

(b) in relation to the transmission of a document referred to in subsection (1)(a), require that—

(i) such a document be authenticated, and

(ii) the identity of the person transmitting such a document be verified,

in such manner as may be specified in the rules, and

(c) specify, in relation to the transmission of such a document by, or to, the Insolvency Service, whether such transmission is in place of, or is an alternative to, any other method by which such document could be filed, lodged, issued or transmitted, or such application could be made, as the case may be.

(3) Rules of court may provide that, where a document that is required by this Act to be furnished to, or lodged or filed with, the appropriate court, is, in accordance with rules of court referred to in subsection (1), furnished to, or lodged or filed with, that court by electronic means—

(a) a copy of that document transmitted by electronic means and displayed in readable form, or

(b) a printed version of such a copy,

shall be treated as the original of that document.

(4) Rules of court made in accordance with this section may make different provision for the transmission of documents by, and to, the Insolvency Service to the provision made for the transmission of documents by, and to, other persons.

(5) References in this Act to the—

(a) furnishing of a document to,

(b) lodgement or filing of a document with,

(c) making of an application to,

(d) transmission of a document to or by, or

(e) issue of a document by,

the appropriate court shall be construed as including a reference to the performance of such action by electronic means, where this is provided for in rules of court referred to in subsection (1).

(6) In this section—

“appropriate person”, in relation to a document referred to in subsection (1)(b), means—

(a) the Insolvency Service, where it applied to the appropriate court for the issue of that document,

(b) the person who applied to the appropriate court for the issue of that document,

(c) where applicable, the approved intermediary or personal insolvency practitioner of a person referred to in paragraph (b), or

(d) where applicable, a solicitor acting on behalf of an approved intermediary or personal insolvency practitioner referred to in paragraph (c);

“court office” means—

(a) in relation to an appropriate court, an office of, or attached to, that court and, where the appropriate court is the Circuit Court, means an office referred to in section 5(3), or

(b) any office of the Courts Service designated by the Courts Service for the purpose of receiving documents or applications, or issuing documents, by electronic means for the purposes of this Act.