Judges of Barcelona unify principles on certain points of insolvency law
International case law
European jurisprudence on universal and territorial procedures
Judgment of the Court of Justice of the European Union of April 18, 2024 (AIR BERLIN case)
The Employment (Collective Redundancies and Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2024 (the “Employment Act”) was signed into law on 9 May 2024 albeit the provisions have not yet commenced. The General Scheme of Companies (Corporate Governance, Enforcement and Regulatory Provisions) Bill 2024 (the “Companies Bill”) was published in March this year and is expected to be enacted later this year. Both make significant changes to the restructuring and insolvency regime. We will continue to keep you apprised of developments regarding the commencement of the Act.
On 11 July 2023, Mr Justice Michael Quinn delivered his judgment in the matter of Mac-Interiors Limited (High Court Record No. 2023/90 COS) (the “Company”), which confirmed and clarified ‘a significant and previously undecided point’ regarding the jurisdiction of the Irish courts to appoint an Examiner to a non-EU registered company with its centre of main interests (“COMI”) in Ireland. McCann FitzGerald act for the Company which brought the application.
On 30 May 2023, Mac-Interiors Limited (the “Company”), a private limited company incorporated and registered in Northern Ireland, but with its COMI in Ireland, presented a petition seeking the appointment of an examiner. On the same day, orders were made, amongst other things, appointing Kieran Wallace of Interpath Advisory as examiner on an interim basis pending the hearing of the Petition.
The commercial judges of Madrid publish a guidefor the appointment of an expert on insolvency pre-pack
Public disclosure not required of appointment of expert in restructuring in the context of a pre-insolvency notice
Decision by Pontevedra Commercial Court No 3 on November 16, 2022
In the context of a pre-insolvency notice made on a confidential basis in which the debtor requests appointment of the expert in restructuring, Pontevedra Commercial Court took the view that the appointment does not have to be sent to the Public Insolvency Register to publicly disclose their identity.
No se exige publicidad del nombramiento del experto en reestructuración en el marco de una comunicación de negociaciones de carácter reservado
Auto del Juzgado de lo Mercantil núm. 3 de Pontevedra, de 16 de noviembre de 2022
Los jueces de lo mercantil de Madrid publican una guía para el nombramiento de experto en pre-pack concursal
In both jurisdictions the general consensus was that where a company is insolvent, the fiduciary duty of its directors to act in the interest of the company (Irish law), or in the way they consider, in good faith, would be most likely to promote the success of the company in the interests of its members as a whole (English law), altered such that directors were required to treat creditors' interests in priority to shareholders' interests. Directors must consider the interests of creditors as a whole, and not just the interests of any individual creditor or class of creditors.