Supreme Court of the Netherlands 11 July 2014 (ABN AMRO vs Berzona)
The Belgian Company Code provides for the possibility to dissolve and liquidate a Belgian company in a single step (en un seul acte/in één akte) (for more information, please see the June 2012 edition of this newsletter).
The Act of 25 April 2014 amending the Company Code with regard to liquidation procedure (the "Act") was published in the Belgian State Gazette on 14 May 2014 and entered into force on 24 May 2014. The Act amends one of the main requirements to proceed with dissolution and liquidation in a single step.
HR Consultancy
DURC: new system officially started
The new system of internal DURC (“Documento Unico di Regolarità Contributiva”), through which the INPS (“Istituto Nazionale della Previdenza Sociale”) ensures the regular payment of social security contributions by the employer, officially started.
These days, in fact, the companies have started to receive by certified e-mail (PEC) an invitation to stabilize any irregularity within 15 days.
Fixed term employment contract: fines replace reinstatement
HR Colsultancy
JOBS ACT - Fixed term employment contract: potential fines for those companies with 20% or more of their employees on fixed term contracts
Current proposed amendments by the Jobs Act include (i) replacing the fine for conversion of fixed term contracts exceeding the 20% limit into open-ended contracts with a fine to be paid to the employee and (ii) the clarification of the reintroduction of basic training for apprentices.
Global FDSI Briefing
Welcome to our latest quarterly briefing on legal developments across our global network. I hope you find the articles insightful and thought provoking. Highlights this quarter include recent developments in Italian derivatives case law, an overview of the amendments made to Spain’s insolvency regulation and the UK’s FCA issuing first warning notices against individuals.
If you have any questions or would like further information please do not hesitate to contact me, or one of our global key contacts.
[Matthew Allen]
Matthew Allen
Financial Services Disputes and Investigations
ECHR finds double jeopardy: Crimes sanctioned by Consob and heard by the Court of Appeal cannot be tried again in court proceedings
Pillar Denton Ltd & others v Jervis & others [2014] EWCA 180 (“Game Station”)
The outcome of this appeal has been awaited with a high degree of interest. The issue was the extent to which rent should be payable as an expense of an administration or liquidation; if it is payable as an expense, it sits near the top of the priority order for the distribution of the tenant’s assets, and will usually be paid in full. Otherwise, it is among the unsecured debts, and the landlord will have to wait for whatever dividend is ultimately payable.
On 1 August 2013, an act amending the Business Continuity Act ("BCA") of 31 January 2009 entered into force.
The new act tackles the most common types of abuse under the Business Continuity Act and aims to reduce the number of bankruptcies following reorganisation governed by the BCA. The basic principles of the Business Continuity Act remain unchanged, however.
In a ground-breaking decision, the Dutch Supreme Court recently found that a foreign bankruptcy trustee may in principle exercise the powers conferred on him under the lex concursus (the law governing the bankruptcy) in the Netherlands as well. Such powers can include the management and disposal of assets located in the Netherlands at the time of the foreign bankruptcy order.