A recent Court of Appeal decision has criticised obiter comments made by the Supreme Court in Bresco v Lonsdale to the effect that adjudication decisions in favour of companies in liquidation could in certain circumstances, and with appropriate safeguards, be enforced by way of summary judgment. The Court of Appeal has indicated that such an approach would be at odds with the mandatory right of set-off arising under the Insolvency Rules. The Court of Appeal’s comments in this respect are themselves obiter and will give rise to uncertainty in this area of the law.

On 9 April the Polish Parliament adopted a bill implementing the so-called “second chance” policy for businesses, pursued at the EU level.

The Act introduces a clear separation between restructuring proceedings and bankruptcy proceedings. As the latter are commonly perceived as stigmatising, the initiation of bankruptcy can hinder successful restructuring. The new Act introduces four new types of restructuring proceedings, i.e.:

Poland – protective and secondary insolvency proceedings can run in parallel in different Member States

Secondary insolvency proceedings may be begun in the member state where the debtor has an establishment, when main proceedings with a protective purpose are already pending in another member state, according to the ECJ.

Protective proceedings (known as ‘sauvegarde’ proceedings) are those where the debtor proves that he is not insolvent but is faced with difficulties, financial and otherwise, that he cannot overcome.