In a recent judgment the Irish High Court for the first time confirmed as “good law” in Ireland the approach taken by the English courts to the circumstances in which a transaction, documented as a sale of receivables, may be re-characterised as a secured loan. Invoice discounting, factoring and similar receivables financing products are important sources of working capital finance for SMEs and are increasingly a funding tool offered by alternative lenders.

Since May 2002, we have had a regime which ensures that an insolvency proceeding started in one of the EU’s member states is, without further formality, recognised in all other member states (except for Denmark) and which determines the law applicable to such proceedings. That regime is provided for in the EU Regulation on insolvency proceedings (1346/2000/EC) (the EIR).

Annual Review of English Construction Law Developments May 2017 An international perspective CMS_LawTax_CMYK_28-100.eps Contents 3 Introduction 5 The interpretation of exclusion and limitation clauses: clarity restored 9 Good faith in the exercise of termination rights 13 Concurrent delay: recent developments and continued uncertainty 19 Contractual warranties and representations: telling the difference 23 On demand securities: the fraud exception in cases of legal uncertainty 31 On-demand securities: compliance with formalities and the doctrine of strict performance 37 Indirect and consequ

In a significant judgment, the High Court has held that there is no bar on a personal insolvency arrangement including a split-mortgage. The court also held that while a Personal Insolvency Practitioner is required to have regard to a creditor’s proposed solution for resolution of mortgage debt (eg a split-mortgage), the PIP will not be acting unreasonably by failing to adopt that solution and instead adopting another reasonable solution (eg debt write-down).

Court refuses application for pre-action disclosure of insurance policy

The High Court has refused an application for pre-action disclosure of the public liability insurance policy of a company that, if litigation were pursued against it, was likely to become insolvent.

Background

The Irish Government has confirmed that the long-heralded Order to give effect to the “Alternative A” insolvency provisions of the Aircraft Protocol to the Cape Town Convention has been signed. While the Order has not yet been published, the Government announcement, made on 10 May 2017, states that the change in law has immediate effect.

Background

A draft bill on amendment to the Bankruptcy Code (Act XLIX of 1991 on bankruptcy proceedings and liquidation proceedings) was introduced into the Parliament on 12 April 2017 and is currently under review. If the draft bill was approved and published, the new rules would be applicable to the new liquidation proceedings and to new management liability related lawsuits. Lawmakers would grant a 2-month period to prepare for the changes.

Key areas for change are:

1. Fiduciary security interests would be elevated to the same level as pledge-type security

The recent Amendment on the Czech Insolvency Act (the “Amendment”) enters into force on 1 July 2017.

The Amendment states that a creditor is entitled to be satisfied from its security even when its contingent or future claim (such as bank guarantee) becomes actual after the start of the security provider’s insolvency.

The new Amendment on the Czech Insolvency Act (the “Amendment”) will enter into force on 1 July 2017.

The Amendment introduces a “liquidity gap” test, which will be used when a debtor (entrepreneur) needs to determine whether it is considered insolvent or not. The liquidity gap is the difference between a debtor’s due debts and its readily available funds. A debtor will only be considered insolvent if the liquidity gap is higher than 10% of its overdue debts.

Issue 6 | April 2017 Disputes Digest 2 | Disputes Digest Corporate counsel’s guide to the key cases of 2016 (litigation) Corporate counsel’s guide to the key cases of 2016 (arbitration) Singapore targets effi ciency in investment arbitration proceedings Does the MasterCard class action mark the dawn of a new era in UK litigation?