Analizamos las principales novedades en materia de insolvencia internacional contenidas en el Proyecto de Ley de reforma del Texto Refundido de la Ley Concursal. Sin perjuicio del texto final que resulte aprobado tras la correspondiente tramitación parlamentaria, el capítulo dedicado a la insolvencia internacional es uno de los que menos enmiendas han recibido y, por tanto, donde previsiblemente se producirán menos cambios.
We analyze the main novelties of the international insolvency regulation introduced in the Insolvency Law Reform Bill. Although the final wording will be approved after its passage through parliament, the chapter on international insolvency is among those that received the fewest amendments and therefore is expected to see the fewest changes. We therefore predict that all or a large part of the comments made below will also be applicable to the wording of the Insolvency Law that will be approved at the end of the process.
The European Court has issued a sentence of special relevance for the operation and effectiveness of the “pre-pack” insolvency procedures. Specifically, it clarifies the requirements that must be met to respect the rights of workers in the event of business transfers.
El órgano judicial europeo ha dictado una sentencia de especial relevancia para el funcionamiento y efectividad de los 'pre-packs' concursales. En concreto, aclara los requisitos que se deben cumplir para respetar los derechos de los trabajadores en caso de transmisión de empresas.
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The courts were busy in the second half of 2021 with developments in the space where insolvency law and environmental law overlap.
In Victoria, the Court of Appeal has affirmed the potential for a liquidator to be personally liable, and for there to be a prospective ground to block the disclaimer of contaminated land, where the liquidator has the benefit of a third-party indemnity for environmental exposures.1
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Australia's borders may be closed, but from the start of the pandemic, Australian courts have continued to grapple with insolvency issues from beyond our shores. Recent cases have expanded the recognition of international insolvency processes in Australia, whilst also highlighting that Australia's own insolvency regimes have application internationally.
Key takeaways
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With the courts about to consider a significant and long standing controversy in the law of unfair preferences, suppliers to financially distressed companies, and liquidators, should be aware that there have been recent significant shifts in the law about getting paid in hard times.
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Creditors commonly find that their applications to wind up a company are suddenly deferred at the last minute by the appointment of a voluntary administrator. Now, in the early days of the small business restructuring (Part 5.3B) process, the courts are already grappling with those circumstances in the context of that new regime. At the time of writing1, only four restructuring appointments under Part 5.3B have been notified to ASIC. Two of them have been the subject of court proceedings.
The resulting decisions reveal:
In brief
The new small business insolvency reforms enacted by the Corporations Amendment (Corporate Insolvency Reforms) Act 2020 (Cth) (Corporations Amendment Act) - which inserts a new Part 5.3B into the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act) - are due to come into effect on 1 January 2021.