In brief
On 18 January 2024, the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) issued its decision in Re PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk [2024] SGHC(I) (“Re Garuda Indonesia“), which was the SICC’s first decision on an application under the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (as enacted in Singapore in the Third Schedule of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (2020 Rev Ed) (“Singapore Model Law“)).
In brief
The Act of 7 August 2023 on the preservation of businesses and the modernization of bankruptcy law, which came into force on 1 November 2023 ("Act"), has been met with great relief and enthusiasm from practitioners and businesses alike. It finally offers alternatives to the systematic bankruptcy of a company that is unable to pay its debts for lack of liquidity, despite the existence of assets or medium-term growth potential.
In brief
On 18 January 2024, the Singapore International Commercial Court (SICC) issued its decision in Re PT Garuda Indonesia (Persero) Tbk [2024] SGHC(I) ("Re Garuda Indonesia"), which was the SICC's first decision on an application under the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (as enacted in Singapore in the Third Schedule of the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (2020 Rev Ed) ("Singapore Model Law")).
In brief
On 29 February 2024, the court of appeal will hear an appeal against an order for the insolvent liquidation of a company that unsuccessfully argued, at first instance, that the petitioning debt was subject to a dispute covered by contractual agreements to arbitrate. While the interplay between insolvency and arbitration is not a new issue, the upcoming hearing will be the first time after the court of final appeal's decision in Re Guy Kwok-Hung Lam [2023] HKCFA 9 ("Guy Lam") for the court of appeal to clarify the principles.
In R (on the application of Palmer) v Northern Derbyshire Magistrates' Court [2023] UKSC 38, the Supreme Court has ruled that an administrator appointed under the Insolvency Act 1986 is not an "officer" of the company.
This case considered this issue within the meaning of section 194 of the Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992 (the TULRCA). As a result of the Supreme Court's decision, administrators will not be exposed to potential criminal liability for failing to notify the Secretary of State of collective redundancies.
An analysis of recent statistics show what the Insolvency and Tax Disputes teams at Mishcon de Reya have long experienced – that HMRC is not in the habit of overlooking an outstanding debt.
In brief
The Federal Court has recently conferred examination powers on an offshore trustee who was foreign representative for the purposes of obtaining Model Law recognition of a Swiss insolvency proceeding for the purposes of undertaking public examinations in Australia.
The decision is a reminder of the flexibility of the Model Law in assisting the recovery of assets and claims in aid of a foreign insolvency proceeding.
Key takeaways
In brief
On 1 November 2023, the Luxembourg law dated 7 August 2023, issued from Draft Bill No. 6539A on business preservation and modernization of the insolvency law ("Law" or "Reform"), entered into force.
While initial discussions leading to this Reform started about ten years ago1, the need for suitable instruments to address financial difficulties in businesses was further emphasized by the pandemic, resulting in a notable increase in bankruptcies in Luxembourg since 2021.
Amendments to the director disqualification regime, enacted in 2015, enable the Insolvency Service (on the request of a creditor of an insolvent company) to seek a compensatory remedy against a disqualified director for the benefit of the creditor(s). This empowers a creditor to take action where an insolvency officer may be unable, or unwilling, to do so.