The Australian Federal Court has made orders relieving the administrators of retailer Colette from personal liability for rent in response to the COVID-19 crisis and the current uncertainty in respect of government policy about rent relief for tenants: see

What you need to know

On March 28, 2020^[1], the UK Government announced that it will introduce new legislation extending the UK’s existing restructuring and insolvency laws to include:

Amendments to the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Corporations Act) to implement the measures announced by Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Sunday, 22 March 2020 to provide temporary relief for financially distressed businesses due to COVID-19 have now come into effect.

The Coronavirus Economic Response Package Omnibus Act 2020 (Cth) (CERPO Act) amendments were passed by the Parliament on 2 March 2020. They will apply for a 6 month period, but may be extended or have impacts beyond that timeframe.

The Treasurer, the Honourable Josh Frydenberg MP, has today announced proposed temporary changes to Australian corporate insolvency laws which will vary the minimum requirements for statutory demands and provide some relief for directors from insolvent trading. These announcements form part of the Australian Government's measures to support otherwise profitable and viable businesses due to the economic impacts of COVID-19.

What a director wanting to enter the safe harbour must do

Directors in Australia have long had a statutory duty to prevent insolvent trading. The duty is engaged where:

The High Court gave its ruling yesterday in the case of Discover (Northampton) Limited and others v Debenhams Retail Limited and others [2019] EWHC 2441 (Ch), rejecting four of the five grounds on which the Applicants disputed the validity of the company's Creditors Voluntary Arrangement ("CVA"), which was approved by creditors in May 2019.

Introduction The UK Government has announced that it will be introducing legislation under which the UK tax authorities1 will move up the creditor hierarchy in English insolvency proceedings2 in respect of certain taxes paid by

UNCITRAL has recently published its Model Law on Recognition and Enforcement of Insolvency-Related Judgments (MLREIJ), with a recommendation that nations adopt it into their domestic law. You can find a complete copy of the text of MLREIJ here (on the UNCITRAL website).

What you need to know

The Federal Court – in a much-litigated wider contest about the ownership of the luxury yacht, “Dragon Pearl” drifting in an intriguing cross-border insolvency – has clarified the limitations for foreign entities and their insolvency appointees in pursuing action in Australia to un-wind antecedent transactions (by attempting to use the voidable transaction provisions of the Australian Corporations Act).

Insolvency and restructuring professionals need to know:

Introduction

For more than a century, a creditor holding English law governed debt relied on the principle (known as the “rule in Gibbs ”) that a debt governed by English law cannot be discharged by a foreign insolvency proceeding, provided that the creditor does not submit to that proceeding.