Once perceived as a relatively moribund restructuring market, where stressed and distressed borrowers and lenders ended up stuck in interminable refinancing cycles faced with court proceedings that, at least in perception, prioritized local creditor interests, today’s landscape could not be more different.

On 1 November 2021, the Federal Decree Law No. 35 of 2021 (the "Decree") (amending certain provisions of the Federal Decree Law No.9 of 2016 concerning Bankruptcy (the "UAE Bankruptcy Law")) came into force. The publication of the Decree follows a significant decision relating to directors' duties by the Dubai Court of First Instance in the matter involving the bankruptcy of Marka Holdings PJSC ("Marka") (the "Marka Case").

Overview

Earlier this month, the High Court of Australia unanimously decided that a judgment creditor cannot apply for a certificate to effect enforcement overseas in circumstances where the judgment debtor is bankrupt.

The Background of the Case

In March 1992, several properties in central Prague, which had been seized by and vested in the state of Czechoslovakia after World War Two, were restored to one Jan Emil (the son of the owners of the properties), who resided in Melbourne, Australia.