The Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) has recently issued welcome guidance on how the impact of COVID-19 will be considered by the ODCE when evaluating potential restriction cases in respect of directors of insolvent companies – see here.

To tackle the Covid-19 pandemic crisis, three new measures to strengthen the liquidity and solvency of businesses in Belgium were submitted to the federal parliament in a draft bill on 5 June 2020.

1° Anticipated tax deduction of losses (individual income tax and non-resident individual income tax)

What is it about?

The taxable result generated in income year 2019 (tax assessment year 2020) can be exempt from tax up to the (estimated) professional losses to be suffered in income year 2020 (tax assessment year 2021).

In the context of the COVID-19 pandemic, many measures have already been taken to support the economy as much as possible during these turbulent times. It is already clear that the impact will be enormous and that the cash buffer built up by some companies will not be enough to survive this crisis. Measures such as deferrals on paying tax and social debts, temporary unemployment due to economic reasons and the Belgian State’s guarantee scheme for bank loans will not suffice for some.

The Revenue Commissioners have issued some recent welcome clarifications about certain provisions of the Government's temporary wage subsidy scheme.

Application for the Subsidy Scheme – An Admission of Insolvency?

The main provisions of the subsidy scheme are set out in Section 28 of the Emergency Measures in the Public Interest (Covid-19) Act 2020.

That section also contains the criteria for an employer's eligibility to avail of the subsidy scheme. One such criterion is that:

In the case of Wilson v McNamara [2020] EWHC 98 (Ch) the High Court of England and Wales (the Court) considered whether the EU principle of freedom of establishment requires that a pension held in another EU member state (Ireland) should be excluded from a bankruptcy estate under UK law in the same manner as a UK pension would be in a UK bankruptcy. Mr Justice Nugee decided in order to decide the case the Court needed to refer a preliminary reference to the European Court of Justice (CJEU) on a question of EU law.

Thomas Cook Belgium and Brussels Airlines may escape fines from the Belgian Competition Authority (BCA) notwithstanding the conclusion of an agreement providing for anticompetitive practices according to the Investigation and Prosecution Service of the Authority.

In August 2017, the BCA had opened an investigation into potential anticompetitive practices resulting from the conclusion of a "Commercial Service Agreement" between Thomas Cook Belgium and Brussels Airlines.

On 14 October 2019, the European Commission (“Commission”) approved the German rescue aid to charter airline Condor under the EU State Aid rules.

Condor is going through a difficult financial situation following the entry into liquidation of the Thomas Cook Group, its parent company. The charter airline is currently facing an acute liquidity shortage but also a loss of important claims against other member companies that it will not be able to collect.

A recent English Court of Appeal decision has held that legal advice privilege, once established, remains in existence unless and until it is waived. Whether there is no one to waive it; or whether the Crown could have waived it but has not done so; does not matter.

What was the Background to the Case?

In the recent decision of Re M.D.Y. Construction Ltd [2018] IEHC 676 the Examiner sought to have proposals for a scheme of arrangement confirmed by the High Court pursuant to section 541 of the Companies Act 2014 (the "Act"). The most interesting feature of the case was that the scheme of arrangement was proposed for approval by the Interim Examiner before his appointment was confirmed by the High Court.

Arrangement to be approved the day after application to confirm appointment

The recent decision of the Court of Appeal in The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland v O'Grady & Anor 2018 IECA 180 has confirmed that where anapplication for summary judgment is made, a defendant must establish that he has "an arguable defence" to the claim if proceedings are to be remitted to plenary hearing.

Background Facts