The Spanish government has very recently approved a reform of the Spanish Insolvency Law, which will enter into effect within 20 days of its publication in the Spanish Official State Journal (Boletín Oficial del Estado), except for the third book of the restated Spanish Insolvency Law, which will enter into effect on 1 January 2023.

Hace unos días se aprobó la reforma de la Ley Concursal, que entrará en vigor a los veinte días de su publicación en el «Boletín Oficial del Estado», con excepción del libro tercero del texto refundido de la Ley Concursal, que entrará en vigor el 1 de enero de 2023.

Law 3/2020, of 18 September, on procedural and organisational measures to tackle COVID-19 in the area of the Administration of Justice entered into effect on 20 September 2020.

The new insolvency and corporate measures are brought in with three primary aims:

El pasado 20 de septiembre de 2020, entró en vigor la Ley 3/2020, de 18 de septiembre, de medidas procesales y organizativas para hacer frente al COVID-19 en el ámbito de la Administración de Justicia.

Según se establece, estas nuevas medidas concursales y societarias se llevan a cabo con una triple finalidad:

El pasado día 1 de septiembre entró en vigor el Real Decreto Legislativo 1/2020, de 5 de mayo, por el que se aprueba el texto refundido de la Ley Concursal (TRLC). De este modo, la Ley 22/2003, de 9 de julio, Concursal queda derogada casi en su totalidad.

Según se establece en el Preámbulo del TRLC, este texto refundido se ha creado ante la imprescindible necesidad de reordenación, clarificación y armonización tanto de la Ley Concursal como de las normas que con rango de ley que modificaron la misma.

Royal Legislative Decree 1/2020, of 5 May, which approves the Recast Spanish Insolvency Law (Texto Refundido de la Ley Concursal, or TRLC) entered into effect on 1 September. As a result, the former Insolvency Law 22/2003, of 9 July, has been derogated almost in its entirety.

According to the TRLC’s Preamble, Spanish insolvency legislation has been amended given the need to reorder, clarify and harmonise the former Insolvency Law and the provisions that have since amended it.

Introduction

The concept of winding up does not exclusively apply to insolvent companies. Solvent companies can also be wound up, on the initiation of the company’s directors and shareholders (for example, as part of a corporate reconstruction or to close down non-operating or redundant entities). 

An overview of the two key procedures to effect the dissolution of a solvent Australian company, being Members’ Voluntary Liquidation and Deregistration, is set out below. 

In brief

Even with the fiscal stimulus and other measures taken by the Federal and State governments in Australia, corporate insolvencies are likely to increase in coming months.

Under Australia's insolvency regimes, a distressed company may be subject to voluntary administration, creditor's voluntary winding up or court ordered winding up (collectively, an external administration). Each of these processes raises different issues for the commencement and continuation of court and arbitration proceedings.

With the aim of managing the potential ramifications of the measures that have so far been implemented in the context of the COVID-19 crisis, the Spanish Government has approved Royal Decree-law 16/2020, of 28 April, of procedural and organisational measures to tackle COVID-19 connected to the administration of justice.