The debtor shall appear and submit to examination under oath at the 
meeting of creditors under section 341(a) of this title. Creditors, any 
indenture trustee, any trustee or examiner in the case, or the United 
States trustee may examine the debtor. The United States trustee may 
administer the oath required under this section.

(Pub. L. 95-598, Nov. 6, 1978, 92 Stat. 2565; Pub. L. 98-353, title III, 
Sec. 436, July 10, 1984, 98 Stat. 370; Pub. L. 99-554, title II, 
Sec. 213, Oct. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 3099.)


                      Historical and Revision Notes

                        senate report no. 95-989

    This section, derived from section 21a of the Bankruptcy Act 
[section 44(a) of former title 11], requires the debtor to appear at the 
meeting of creditors and submit to examination under oath. The purpose 
of the examination is to enable creditors and the trustee to determine 
if assets have improperly been disposed of or concealed or if there are 
grounds for objection to discharge. The scope of the examination under 
this section will be governed by the Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure, as 
it is today. See rules 205(d), 10-213(c), and 11-26. It is expected that 
the scope prescribed by these rules for liquidation cases, that is, 
``only the debtor's acts, conduct, or property, or any matter that may 
affect the administration of the estate, or the debtor's right to 
discharge'' will remain substantially unchanged. In reorganization 
cases, the examination would be broader, including inquiry into the 
liabilities and financial condition of the debtor, the operation of his 
business, and the desirability of the continuance thereof, and other 
matters relevant to the case and to the formulation of the plan. 
Examination of other persons in connection with the bankruptcy case is 
left completely to the rules, just as examination of witnesses in civil 
cases is governed by the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.


                               Amendments

    1986--Pub. L. 99-554 amended section generally. Prior to amendment, 
section read as follows: ``The debtor shall appear and submit to 
examination under oath at the meeting of creditors under section 341(a) 
of this title. Creditors, any indenture trustee, or any trustee or 
examiner in the case may examine the debtor.''
    1984--Pub. L. 98-353 substituted ``examine'' for ``examiner''.


                    Effective Date of 1986 Amendment

    Effective date and applicability of amendment by Pub. L. 99-554 
dependent upon the judicial district involved, see section 302(d), (e) 
of Pub. L. 99-554, set out as a note under section 581 of Title 28, 
Judiciary and Judicial Procedure.


                    Effective Date of 1984 Amendment

    Amendment by Pub. L. 98-353 effective with respect to cases filed 90 
days after July 10, 1984, see section 552(a) of Pub. L. 98-353, set out 
as a note under section 101 of this title.


 Participation by Bankruptcy Administrator at Meetings of Creditors and 
                         Equity Security Holders

    A bankruptcy administrator or the bankruptcy administrator's 
designee may examine debtor at meeting of creditors and may administer 
oath required by this section, see section 105 of Pub. L. 103-394, set 
out as a note under section 341 of this title.

                  Section Referred to in Other Sections

    This section is referred to in section 1161 of this title.