Lawyer Julian Hall's bid to have his bankruptcy discharged has been rejected.

In doing so, Chief Justice Richard Ground criticised him for his conduct in the eight years since the order was imposed, "in particular his failure to give full and frank disclosure of his affairs to the Official Receiver and his total failure to make any payment for the benefit of his creditors".

During a court hearing earlier this month, Mr. Hall claimed that because his bankruptcy prevents him working as a barrister, he can't earn enough to pay his $3.3 million debts.

He described the Chief Justice's ruling on Friday as "fundamentally and essentially an unfair one".

He said that he may appeal, and vowed to continue pressing for the order to be lifted so he can practice law again.

"I will fight this if necessary to my dying day, but no doubt justice will be done," he said outside Supreme Court. "Giving up is not an option for Julian Hall."

His request for his bankruptcy to be discharged had been vigorously opposed by the lawyer for Official Receiver Stephen Lowe, to whom Mr. Hall is supposed to hand over all earnings except those necessary for his basic needs.

The request was also opposed by lawyers for two of Mr. Hall's creditors — the estate of his late employer Charles Vaucrosson, and the receivers under the Mental Health Act of wealthy widow Betty McMahon.

The high-profile former MP came under heavy fire from them for failing to repay a cent of the money owed.

They claimed he has refused to detail his assets and finances — including his current $119,000 per year contract as consultant to the Department of Works and Engineering and past consultancy work for various law firms, Triangle Amusements, Brunswick Company and Pro-Active Management Systems.

Mr. Hall argued that he complied with requests for information to the best of his ability.

He accused the Official Receiver of causing delays and persecuting him in a bid to keep him bankrupt for as long as possible — 15 years. That status prevents him being an MP as well as practicing as a barrister.

He also told the court that Mr. Lowe had been "hijacked" by those acting for Mrs. McMahon, who was declared unfit to handle her own affairs under the Mental Health Act in 1996.

Mr. Hall further claimed his earnings have been meagre since being declared bankrupt, despite work as a legal consultant.

In his judgment, the Chief Justice criticised the Official Receiver for delays, but said he did not believe these had prejudiced Mr. Hall.

He rejected the allegation that the Official Receiver had been "kidnapped" by the creditors.

Mr. Justice Ground detailed a report from the Official Receiver listing Mr. Hall's debts in addition to those to the McMahon and Vaucrosson estates as including $105,573 to the Bermuda Government, $4,580 to the Bermuda High School, $223,887 to the Bank of Bermuda and $3,943 to Hamilton Properties Ltd.

He said of Mr. Hall: "He has made no real attempt to co-operate with the Official Receiver. He has not kept the Official Receiver informed of his dealings and he has neither kept nor disclosed any records or accounts.

"It seems that he does not maintain bank accounts, and when asked how he manages in the modern world, he said that he used other people's debit cards."

In an apparent reference to information from the accountant for Brunswick Company, who said he deposited money for Mr. Hall into his own bank account to which Mr. Hall had access, the Chief Justice said: "Moreover, he appears to have gone out of his way to conceal his financial affairs by entering into an arrangement intended to divert the proceeds of his professional labours away from his creditors.

"In those circumstances, Mr. Hall cannot reasonably expect either the creditors or the court to regard his application for discharge with much enthusiasm."

The Chief Justice agreed with lawyer Timothy Marshall, representing the Vaucrosson estate, that "some arrangement should be put in place to allow Mr. Hall to work and pay down his debts".

He therefore directed that the Official Receiver serves Mr. Hall with a list of written questions about the state of his finances within 28 days.

Mr. Hall must then reply within 28 days, with his answers verified by a sworn statement.

Once the Official Receiver's questions are answered, Mr. Justice Ground said he might consider offering Mr. Hall a conditional discharge from his bankruptcy.

That would entail him consenting to a judgment in favour of the Official Receiver for the outstanding debt plus interest.

Conditions would be set for him to report his income and expenditure and to give any income beyond that necessary for his "basic needs" to the Official Receiver for the benefit of his creditors.

The Chief Justice will review the matter again in ten weeks.

Both Mr. Marshall and Saul Froomkin QC, representing the McMahon estate, asked for costs to be awarded against Mr. Hall, with Mr. Marshall describing these as "very substantial".

However, the Chief Justice declined to do so, commenting: "I make no order as to costs, not because I don't think they are entitled to them, but because I think that at the end of the day if the debts are paid, they will have done well."

• The full text of the Chief Justice's ruling can be found at www.gov.bm. Click on the links in the following order: Government, Attorney General, Judiciary, Judgments and Legal References, New Judgments.