Introduction

A significant factor in the success of restructurings negotiated in French out-of-court processes (whether ad hoc mandates or conciliations) is the absolute confidentiality of the discussions conducted by a company and the relevant stakeholders (usually creditors, existing or new sponsors or key clients) under the supervision of a court-appointed insolvency practitioner.

Under the Bankruptcy Ordinance (Cap. 6) (“BO”), a person who has been adjudged bankrupt will be entitled to be discharged from bankruptcy four years after the making of the bankruptcy order, unless it is a second bankruptcy or the period is extended by the Court. The maximum extension is an additional four year period.

Section 42 of the Bankruptcy Ordinance (Cap. 6) (“BO”) provides that where a person is adjudged bankrupt, any disposition of property made by that person from the date of presentation of the bankruptcy petition is void unless made with the consent of the Court or unless subsequently ratified by the Court. The purpose of this section is to prevent the improper dissipation of the bankrupt’s assets once a bankruptcy petition is filed and to protect the principle of pari passu distribution.

Section 30A(1) of the Bankruptcy Ordinance (Cap. 6) (the “BO”), provides that the bankruptcy period, for a person who has been adjudged bankrupt for the first time, runs for four years. However, section 30A(4) of the BO provides eight grounds upon which the Court, on the application of the trustee in bankruptcy or a creditor, can order the suspension of a bankruptcy period – in effect lengthening the period of bankruptcy.

Het einde van 2014 nadert met rasse schreden. Om een liquidatie, juridische fusie of splitsing voor het einde van het jaar te voltooien, dienen bepaalde termijnen in acht te worden genomen. Hieronder treft u een procesbeschrijving van deze frequent gebruikte herstructureringsinstrumenten aan.

Fusie / splitsing

Op 3 september 2014 heeft de regering een wetsvoorstel (het ‘Wetsvoorstel”) ingediend waardoor een bestuursverbod kan worden opgelegd voor maximaal 5 jaar aan bij faillissement betrokken personen aan wie een verwijt kan worden gemaakt voor de oorzaak van dat faillissement.

Inleiding

Op dit moment bestaat er al een aantal civielrechtelijke instrumenten om fraude of wanbeleid bij rechtspersonen aan te pakken zoals:

In een recente uitspraak heeft het Hof Den Bosch een nadere uitwerking gegeven van de werking van artikel 61 van de Faillissementswet (“Fw”), die van belang is voor ondernemers die gehuwd zijn na het maken van huwelijkse voorwaarden (Hof Den Bosch 12 augustus 2014, GHSHE:2014:2773).

Huwelijkse voorwaarden en faillissement

A bankrupt can be required to pay a portion of his income earned during the bankruptcy to his or her trustees by way of a contribution to the bankrupt estate. Such payments can be fixed by the court pursuant to section 43E of the Bankruptcy Ordinance (Cap 6 of the Laws of Hong Kong) or agreed between the bankrupt and the trustees on an informal basis, and are calculated after assessing the bankrupt's reasonable expenses.

This is a case with respect to the interpretation of the words "the applicant's entitlement to severance payment" in section 16(2)(f)(i) of the Protection of Wages on Insolvency Ordinance (the "PWIO").

Under the PWIO, the applicant may apply for an ex-gratia payment from the Protection of Wages on insolvency Fund (the "Fund") as his former employer entered into voluntary liquidation.

The relevant sections of the PWIO are set out below:-

"15(1) ......an applicant to whom:-

On March 7, 2014 the Spanish Government approved the Royal Decree Law 4/2014 adopting urgent measures on debt refinancing and restructuring ("Real Decreto-ley 4/2014, de 7 de marzo, por el que se adoptan medidas urgentes en material de refinanciación y reestructuración de deuda empresarial" or "RDL 4/2014").