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

This is an amended version of an article which was first published on LexisPSL.

In a judgment handed down on 17 March 2017 (but which has only recently become publicly available) in Catalyst Managerial Services v Libya Africa Investment Portfolio,1 Mr Justice Teare held that an After The Event (ATE) insurance policy put before the court in purported satisfaction of a security for costs order, was not in a reasonably satisfactory form.