A liquidator is not a trustee but since he is in a fiduciary position in relation to any property of the company and is in the position of a trustee, he is sometimes stated as 'statutory trustee'. Discuss the status of l

Status of Liquidator The liquidator in a winding up by the Court or under the supervision of the Court, is an officer of the Court, and as such is required to exercise a high degree of honesty and fairness towards the creditors and the members of the company. He is also the agent of the company and incurs no personal liability when he enters into any contracts as a liquidator. In a voluntary winding up, the liquidator is more rightly described as the agent of the company. He is not an officer of the Court. As a paid agent of the company he has statutory duties towards the creditors and contributories including the administration of the assets of the company. Both in a compulsory winding up and voluntary winding up, a liquidator as an agent of the company, must exercise a high degree of care and diligence in discharging his statutory duties. He may be liable in damage to a creditor or contributory for injury caused to him as a result of his breach of statutory duties. A liquidator is not a trustee. The property of the company is not vested in him. But he is in a fiduciary position in relation to any property of the company and is in the position of a trustee, or what is sometimes stated, he is a "statutory trustee". Accordingly, if he pays an invalid claim, even without willful default, he is liable to misfeasance proceedings. He is not a trustee for individual creditors or contributories.