近年来，由于经济形势下行叠加新冠疫情，众多企业陷入经营困难和债务危机，庭外债务重组因具有较高的灵活性、自主性，不受时间和程序上的限制，成为化解企业债务危机的重要方式，而敏感债权因其涉众性成为庭外债务重组程序中的棘手问题。敏感债权往往与非法集资有着千丝万缕的联系，本文将从庭外重组中涉非（涉嫌非法集资）敏感债权处置角度出发，具体分析敏感债权处置方案中的重点法律问题，以及律师在涉非敏感债权处置中的作用。
一、敏感债权的概念与特征
（一）敏感债权的概念
正如庭外重组一样，对于敏感债权，法律尚未给出明确的定义。结合过往庭外重组等债务风险处置案例，可以将敏感债权理解为：因涉及众多自然人债权人，可能涉嫌非法集资，而需要在债务处置中特别考虑的债权，主要包括涉及个人的理财产品和民间集资。
（二）敏感债权的特征
敏感债权的主要特点如下：
1. 债权人一般为自然人，且人数众多，具有涉众性特点。敏感债权一般涉及众多自然人债权人，这类群体抗风险能力一般较差，企业债务危机爆发后，如果无法及时清偿敏感债权，可能诱发群体性事件，影响社会稳定。
In brief
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
In brief
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.
In brief
The new small business insolvency reforms enacted by the Corporations Amendment (Corporate Insolvency Reforms) Act 2020 (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.
In brief
The Federal Court has ordered that an insolvency professional be appointed to act as a referee and to decide questions of insolvency in relation to a series of alleged unfair preferences, rather than have the judge undertake that task.
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