In a recent judgment, the Belgian Court of Cassation ruled that a secured creditor must renew the registration of its mortgage even after the opening of bankruptcy proceedings. Aside from its obvious significance for real estate security, the Court’s ruling may have wider implications for secured creditors and could potentially be interpreted to apply to other forms of security, including the registered movable assets pledge. Secured creditors should see this as a reminder to ensure that perfection requirements continue to be met, be it before or after insolvency.

After a lengthy consultation period, the Pre-Action Protocol for Debt Claims (PAPDC) has now been finalised and will come into force on 1 October 2017. This protocol will apply to lenders who are seeking payment of a debt from an individual/ sole trader, as a debtor or guarantor. Now is the time to update your systems and procedures to accommodate the new protocol requirements.

What is required?

The Ministry of Justice is consulting on a revised draft Pre-action Protocol for Debt Claims (Debt Protocol) after an earlier version was lambasted by representatives of the credit industry as being totally disproportionate. The new version attempts to strike a more proportionate balance between the needs of creditors, debtors and debt advisors.