What role does business common sense play in the interpretation of commercial contracts? This issue was recently addressed by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in Rainy Sky S.A. v. Kookmin Bank. The answer: “where a term of a contract is open to more than one interpretation, it is generally appropriate to adopt the interpretation which is most consistent with business common sense”. Since there is currently some uncertainty in Canada on the point, Rainy Sky is an important case to consider.

Decision

In Galantis v Alexious, [2019] UKPC 15 the Privy Council concluded that the oppression remedy existing under the Bahamian Companies Act cannot be invoked after the dissolution of a company, with respect to oppressive conduct by directors that occurred before the dissolution of the company.

February 2017 N° 19 Fondo Atlante and the future for the financial institutions Tommaso dalla Massara Some news on insolvency procedures Fabio Marelli EU Commission first draft of ePrivacy Regulation Rocco Panetta Insurance Distribution Directive Guido Foglia ACROSS THE EUNIVERSE 2 In this Issue Editorial Giovanni Moschetta, Bernard O'Connor 3 What's App in Europe 4 Bernard O'Connor The next big thing for European data protection: EU Commission publishes first draft of ePrivacy Regulation to be discussed during GDPR transition period 6 Rocco Panetta, Francesco Armaroli Critical features of

The consequences for cross-border insolvencies will largely depend on how Brexit is implemented, but will not affect schemes of arrangement

Foreword

Understanding and mastering cross-border insolvency requires a thorough knowledge of the different domestic insolvency regimes, all of which have distinctive procedures and rules on jurisdiction and recognition of foreign proceedings. Creditors and debtors look for the most favourable system: in this framework, the UK insolvency system is usually considered “creditor-focused”.

In Short

The Situation: Jones Day recently represented a group of secured term loan and revolver lenders in the global restructuring of syncreon Group B.V. ("syncreon")—a leading provider of logistics services with over 14,000 employees across more than 100 facilities located in 20 countries around the world.

For more than a century, courts in England and Wales have refused to recognize or enforce foreign court judgments or proceedings that discharge or compromise debts governed by English law. In accordance with a rule (the "Gibbs Rule") stated in an 1890 decision by the English Court of Appeal, creditors holding debt governed by English law may still sue to recover the full amount of their debts in England even if such debts have been discharged or modified in connection with a non-U.K.

The UK Government has announced proposals to introduce a new UK restructuring plan and moratorium, together with certain other changes to the corporate governance regime relevant to companies in distress. In addition, insolvency termination clauses will in certain circumstances no longer be enforceable in the event that one party to a contract enters into an insolvency proceeding.

In Short:

The Situation: In Bakhshiyeva v Sberbank of Russia, a debtor sought to restructure English law-governed debts pursuant to an Azerbaijani restructuring proceeding. In order to prevent certain dissenting creditors from commencing enforcement proceedings against the debtor in the UK, the debtor asked the English court to provide an indefinite stay.

On September 18, 2018, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law ("UNCITRAL") published its final version of the new Model Law on the Recognition and Enforcement of Insolvency-Related Judgments (the "IRJ Model Law"). The IRJ Model Law creates a framework for the recognition and enforcement of judgments in foreign bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings. It is intended to supplement and complement the 1997 UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (the "CBI Model Law").

For the benefit of our clients and friends investing in European distressed opportunities, our European Network is sharing some current developments.

Recent Developments