The 18 March saw George Osborne’s budget speech, heralded by Mr Osborne announcing that “Britain is walking tall again” and promising to “use whatever additional resources we have to get the deficit and the debt falling”. We examine what the drivers behind the hyperbole might mean for the insolvency community.
Further austerity as the key theme
This quarter has seen a wave of legislative and regulatory reform on the way. We review some of the more significant developments.
Insolvency exemption to the Jackson reforms extended indefinitely
1. The reform and its drivers
We are witnessing an unprecedented review of Spanish Law 22/2003 on Insolvency Proceedings (Spanish Insolvency Act or “IA”). With the recent approval of three Royal Decree-Laws (“RDLs”), namely RDL 4/2014, of 7 March, RDL 11/2014, of 5 September and RDL 1/2015, of 27 February), the Spanish legislator seeks to achieve three main goals:
Kandola v Mirza Solicitors LLP [2015] EWHC 460 (Ch)
A recent decision of HHJ Cooke in the Chancery Division of the High Court in Kandola v Mirza Solicitors LLP [2015] EWHC 460 (Ch) has provided some useful guidance on solicitors' duties to advise as to the risk of insolvency of the vendor when acting for purchasers in property transactions where deposits are held as agents for the vendor. It also provides guidance on solicitors' duties generally when advising on risks in transactions.
The Facts
The UK is to ratify the Cape Town Convention and its Aircraft Protocol (together, Cape Town). This may help UK aircraft operators access cheaper capital markets funding. But that cheaper funding may require the UK, in effect, to adopt Cape Town's "Alternative A" insolvency regime. Section 1110, US Bankruptcy Code (on which Alternative A is based) has worked well in US airline restructurings. But Alternative A may not mesh well with English insolvency law. Will Alternative A hamper restructurings of UK operators of helicopters and other aircraft?
The Law of the Republic of Kazakhstan No. 176-V “On Rehabilitation and Bankruptcy” dated 7 March 2014 (hereinafter the “Rehabilitation Law”) was amended as follows:
This article provides snapshot of some of the more incidental goings-on of which we believe practitioners should be aware. Amongst other things, it covers developments in the reform of the EC Regulation, the consultation on the new-look SIP 16, and the Comet decision on the extent of the court’s S.236 powers.
EU Council adopts agreement on EC Insolvency Regulation reforms
First in the lineup, the Council of the EU agreed a compromise agreement with the EU Parliament on the proposed amendments to the EC Insolvency Regulation (Reg EC 1346/2000).
The PPF’s final levy rules for 2015/16 published at the end of last year largely confirmed the consultation drafts but included changes in some details.
We recap on what was known before the final rules came out. Then we look at the changes in the final rules.
Changes already confirmed
Insolvency scoring
In late December 2014, Russia adopted major changes to its insolvency (bankruptcy) law. Critically, the changes introduced the long-awaited regulation of individual insolvency (personal bankruptcy), with the aim of closing the regulatory gap and supporting individual debtors struggling during Russia's economic downturn.1 Some time has passed since the initial draft law on individual insolvency (personal bankruptcy) was first delivered to the Russian Parliament back in 2012.