On July 31, 2024, the Supreme Court of Canada released its decision in Poonian v. British Columbia (Securities Commission), on whether financial sanctions imposed by securities regulators are dischargeable through bankruptcy. The decision resolves a conflict between Alberta and B.C. jurisprudence and will have a significant impact on the treatment of all administrative orders in bankruptcy proceedings.

The facts

Insolvency proceedings and avoidance actions play a significant role in safeguarding creditors' interests and maximising the insolvency estate in Türkiye. The European Commission's Proposal for a Directive (COM (2022)702) aims to harmonise contestation rights in insolvency across EU member states. Although Türkiye is not an EU member states, Türkiye has similar avoidance actions regulated under its own insolvency legislation, the Turkish Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law (EBL).

Overview

Regarding the draft Directive proposed by the European Commission that harmonises facets of insolvency law, it is worth noting that the draft Directive does not prevent EU member states from maintaining or adopting provisions that offer greater protection to creditors than those outlined in the Directive. Since the existing Croatian law framework on contestation rights provides numerous and detailed rules that go beyond the draft Directive, its implementation is not expected to require extensive or substantial modifications.

The Supreme Court of NSW refused to validate the appointment of a voluntary administrator (Administrator) to Premier Energy Resources Pty Ltd (Company) under section 447A of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Act) after the Administrator failed to investigate allegations of fraud surrounding his appointment.

The EU Commission issued a proposal for a Directive harmonising certain aspects of insolvency law, EU (COM(2022) 702 final. Although still being discussed, the Proposal is unlikely to result in material amendments to existing Bulgarian insolvency avoidance actions, which follows the principles set out in the Proposal and in many ways affords creditors a greater level of protection. Nevertheless, certain time periods and rules on the implementation of the avoidance actions may need to be amended in the Bulgarian law.

Cooper as liquidator of Runtong Investment and Development Pty Ltd (in liq) v CEG Direct Securities Pty Ltd [2024] FCA 6

Section 192 of the Canada Business Corporations Act (CBCA) provides a flexible tool that allows corporations to achieve important change and undertake various corporate transactions, subject to court approval and oversight. This article aims to provide an update on the Québec courts’ acceptance of virtual securityholder meetings and approach to the solvency requirement.

Overview of the arrangement process

Commonwealth of Australia v Tonks [2023] NSWCA 285

In this decision, the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of NSW considered the interplay between the priority regimes under ss 556 and 561 of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) (Act) in resolving a contest between a liquidator’s claim for remuneration and the entitlements of former employees to be paid out of circulating assets.

The Court of Appeal confirmed the first instance decision of Justice Black in finding that:

On 7 December 2022, the European Commission published a draft directive aimed at harmonizing certain aspects of insolvency law. The intention behind this directive is to mandate the inclusion of "pre-pack proceedings" in national insolvency laws across the European Union ("EU"). Although Türkiye is not a member of the EU and does not have specific rules for governing pre-pack insolvency sales, it does have procedures that are similar, if not an identical, to pre-pack proceedings.

In this article we will take a closer look at Türkiye's pre-pack-like institution.