Hervorming van de insolventiewetgeving
Meer dan twee maanden hebben we er op moeten wachten, maar op 21 maart 2021 kwam eindelijk de goedkeuring van de wet die de insolventiewetgeving gedeeltelijk en tijdelijk hervormt.
Dit was bijna twee maanden nadat het algemene moratorium op faillissementen dat sinds 28 oktober 2020 van kracht is, afliep.
1. Waarom deze wetgevende tussenkomst noodzakelijk was
Réforme de droit de l'insolvabilité
On l’attendait depuis bientôt deux mois, voire plus : le 21 mars 2021, une loi réformant partiellement et temporairement le droit de l’insolvabilité a été votée.
Cette loi intervient presque deux mois après la fin du moratoire général sur les faillites en place depuis le 28 octobre 2020 et qui prenait fin le 31 janvier dernier.
1. Pourquoi cette intervention législative était nécessaire
On 22 October 2020, the UAE government made various changes to the UAE Bankruptcy Law*, including the concept of Emergency Financial Crisis (EFC). Subsequently, on 10 January 2021, the UAE Cabinet declared the existence of an EFC in the UAE. In this article, Partners Michael Morris and Keith Hutchison explore how this declaration may impact on debtors and creditors.
Emergency Financial Crisis
One of the key changes implemented was a power given to the UAE Cabinet to declare an EFC. An EFC is defined as:
The emergence of a new, more infectious, Covid-19 variant and the imposition of ever more severe lockdowns extends the downside risk on the IMF’s recent outlook for the global economy and its warning of a ‘long, uneven road to recovery’.
The COVID-19 pandemic has brought disruption and economic hardship to several businesses around the globe. In Brazil, the effects of lockdown and restriction measures by the Governments have caused numerous companies to file for bankruptcy or judicial reorganisation, the latter being the legal restructuring instrument which aims to assist companies to continue their activities and avoid becoming bankrupt.
Relevant Aspects of the Judicial Reorganisation process
The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (‘CIGA’) came into force in June 2020 and introduced significant reforms to the insolvency law of England and Wales. This article explores the temporary measures introduced by CIGA, with a particular focus on what they mean for creditors looking to recover bad debts and offers a possible solution for creditors with claims which, in current challenging times, may be written off as disproportionately costly to take forward.
Limited debt recovery options and enforcement rights until (at least) 31 December 2020
Algemeen wordt aangenomen dat dit najaar een gevaarlijke fase wordt voor vele ondernemingen. Naar de reden daarvoor hoeven we niet ver te zoeken alhoewel het misschien een beetje te gemakkelijk is alle schuld in de schoenen van Corona te steken. Het is in alle geval al lang geen schande meer om te moeten toegeven dat het soms moeilijk is om alle leveranciers te betalen.
On entend de manière générale que cet automne sera une période dangereuse pour de nombreuses entreprises. Et il n'est évidemment pas nécessaire de chercher bien loin pour en connaître la raison, bien que la situation économique difficile actuelle ne trouve pas sa cause unique dans la crise subie suite au Coronavirus. En tout cas, il n’y a rien d’honteux à admettre que l’on peut avoir du mal à payer tous ses fournisseurs.
It is generally accepted that the last quarter of 2020 will be a risky period for many businesses. The reason for this is not far-fetched, although it is maybe a little too easy to put all the blame on Corona. In any case, it is no longer a disgrace to have to admit problems to pay all suppliers.
During lockdown period, many companies were still able to survive with the special government coronacrisis measures. But now, as these measures are being systematically phased out, risk of bankruptcy has increased.
On 30 July 2020, the Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act 2018 (IRDA) came into operation. The IRDA is an omnibus legislation housing all of Singapore’s insolvency and restructuring laws in one single piece of legislation.
The general framework of the IRDA has been discussed in the first article in our series of articles covering the various aspects of IRDA and can be found here.