On 1 October 2018, the Singapore Parliament passed the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Bill (the "Bill"), an omnibus legislation which will consolidate Singapore's personal insolvency, corporate insolvency and restructuring laws, which are currently under separate legislative regimes.

The overhaul follows recent amendments to the corporate insolvency and restructuring provisions of the Singapore Companies Act, and is part of a wider effort to boost the debt restructuring ecosystem in Singapore.

Key provisions introduced by the bill

Does a creditor’s good-faith belief that a discharge injunction does not apply to its debt preclude a finding of civil contempt? Due to a circuit split, the U.S. Supreme Court was asked to decide this issue.

1. Genussrechte können nur dann als inhaltsgleiche Schuldverschreibungen aus Gesamtemissionen dem Schuldverschreibungsgesetz unterfallen, wenn sie in einer Urkunde verbrieft sind (Genussschein).
2. In einem Prozess über Rechte der Schuldverschreibungsgläubiger aus den Schuldverschreibungen sind diese auch dann Partei des Prozesses, wenn sie einen gemeinsamen Vertreter bestellt haben.
3. Die Vertretungsmacht im Insolvenzverfahren berechtigt den gemeinsamen Vertreter auch ohne vorhergehenden gesonderten Beschluss der Gläubigerversammlung, der Forderungsanmeldung eines anderen Gläu

Are a licensee’s rights to use a trademark safe if the licensor files for bankruptcy and rejects the trademark license? This is a question the U.S. Supreme Court may resolve later this year.

Foreign judgments may be enforced in Australia under the Foreign Judgments Act 1991 or, if that Act does not apply, pursuant to common law principles.

Registration and enforcement pursuant to the Foreign Judgments Act 1991

Section 523(a)(2)(B) of the Bankruptcy Code provides that a discharge under the Bankruptcy Code does not discharge an individual debtor from any debt for money, property, services, or an extension, renewal, or refinancing of credit, to the extent obtained by use of a statement in writing that is materially false, respecting the debtor’s financial condition, on which the creditor to whom the debtor is liable for such money, property, services, or credit reasonably relied, and that the debtor caused to be made or published with intent to deceive.

In Bakery and Confectionery Union Fund v. Just Born II, Inc., the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on April 26, 2018, affirmed the district court’s judgment requiring Just Born to pay delinquent contributions into the Bakery and Confectionery Union and Industry International Pension Fund (the Pension Fund), as well as interest, statutory damages and attorneys’ fees.

1. It is hard to get rid of this preconceived idea that unlike other systems, the French insolvency system (excessively) favours debtors at the expense of their creditors.

Some recent decisions make it possible to question this idea.

These decisions deal with the conditions required for the approval of a safeguard plan and are warnings to debtors that might be tempted to force their plan through.

Safeguard proceedings end with the court-approval of a restructuring plan when there are serious chances of rescuing the business (French Commercial Code, Art. L.626-1).

Courts agree that bankruptcy trustees control bankrupt corporations' privilege – just as corporations' successor management controls privilege protection. But does the same approach apply in an individual's bankruptcy setting?

Do you know the new rules?

The alarming increase in "speculative mergers" and the increasingly frequent occurrence of strawmen in commercial companies' management structures has long been seen as a major obstacle on the Slovak market. In response, the Ministry of Justice of the Slovak Republic has amended the Commercial Code to support and encourage business in Slovakia.

Below we summarise the key changes that affect all business entities, not only with respect to mergers, but also in other areas of day-to-day commercial activity in Slovakia.