On 11 July 2013, Belgium adopted new legislation on the creation and enforcement of security interests in moveable assets (the "Act"). The purpose of the Act is to significantly reform and modernise security interests in movable assets. Initially, the Act was scheduled to enter into force on 1 December 2014, at the latest.

by Roel Fransis The law of 11 July 2013 (the “Law”) will reform the common legal regime for security rights in movable property (in addition to the regime applicable to financial collateral governed by the Law of 15 December 2004 implementing Directive 2002/47/EC on Financial Collateral Arrange- ments). The legal regime applicable to mortgages on immovable property and statutory preference rights remains, with a few exceptions, unaffected by the Law.

The European Commission in Brussels engaged in the reform of the European Insolvency Regulation in 2012. The goal of the reform was to adapt the Insolvency Regulation to the changes that had occurred over the last 10+ years and to strengthen the rescue culture in Europe. The Commission was unhappy however that the European Insolvency Regulation was limited to cross border insolvencies.

The European Commission has today set out a series of common principles for national insolvency procedures for businesses in financial difficulties. The objective is to shift the focus away from liquidation towards encouraging viable businesses to restructure at an early stage so as to prevent insolvency. http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-14-254_en.htm

The Prospectus Directive 2003/71/EC (the "Prospectus Directive") and the Prospectus Regulation No 809/2004 (the "Prospectus Regulation") were amended by Directive 2010/73/EU (the "Amending Directive") and Regulations Nos 311/2012, 486/2012 and 862/2012 (together the "New Prospectus Regulation") respectively.

There are two main sources of confusion in the public corporate governance debate. One is the confusion about the role of public policy intervention. The other is a lack of empirical knowledge about the corporate landscape where rules are supposed to be implemented and the functioning of today’s equity markets, where voting rights and cash flow rights are traded. To mitigate some of this confusion, this paper provides both an analytical framework for the role of public policy and a description of the empirical context that influences the conditions for that policy.

Evert Verwey reports from this year’s Annual Congress, held in Brussels, 11-14 October

REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT, THE COUNCIL AND THE EUROPEAN ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE on the application of Council Regulation (EC) No 1346/2000 of 29 May 2000 on insolvency proceedings The European Commission has published its report on the application of the EC Regulation on Insolvency Proceedings, together with proposals for amendments to the Regulation.

Appointment A trustee (curator/curateur) is appointed in a bankruptcy proceeding pursuant to Article 27 of the Bankruptcy Act of August 8, 1997, as amended (Bankruptcy Act). Since April 1, 2009, the Belgian Act of January 31, 2009 on the Continuity of Undertakings (Act on the Continuity of Undertakings) replaced the existing Act of July 17, 1997 on the Judicial Composition.