Act 22/2003, of July 9 ("Spain's Insolvency Act"), has been recently amended to include a new chapter regulating the so-called "insolvency mediators" and the extrajudicial settlement of payments ("ESP") as a form of negotiating the debts of the entrepreneurs.

The reform has been introduced by Act 14/2013, of September 27, on entrepreneurs and their internationalization (hereinafter, the "

Act

On March 7, 2014 the Spanish Government approved the Royal Decree Law 4/2014 adopting urgent measures on business 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"). The aim of this new regulation is the implementation of legal measures necessary to achieve the viable restructuring of debtors.

Spanish Secondary Regulation develops the Spanish Mediation Law dated July 6th 2012 (hereinafter the "Regulation") published in the Official Gazette last December 27th 2013. 

Mediators' training

I)     Introduction

As highlighted by the 2008-2009 crisis, the insolvency of sub-suppliers raises important challenges. Automotive parts suppliers may need to find an alternative sub-supplier at short notice or may have to take over the production of certain parts themselves, which often requires a recovery of the tools that were provided to the sub-supplier. Both scenarios raise difficult legal issues.

In a recent landmark ruling, the UK Supreme Court deliberated on the question of whether an overseas defendant had to have submitted to the jurisdiction under common law before a foreign bankruptcy order would be recognised and enforced in England. Richard Keady and Jay Qin of Bird & Bird consider the practical implications of the decision and the significance it may have on practitioners going forward.

Summary and implications

This note provides a short summary of receivership and covers some of the most frequently asked questions. The note is intended to be a general overview and specific advice should be taken in individual cases.

The appointment of a receiver is one of the formal enforcement options typically available to lenders who have security over property assets situated in England and Wales. The receiver’s job is to realise those assets and use the proceeds to discharge the debt due to the charge-holder.

This appeal was brought by the insolvency practitioners dealing with the Nortel and Lehman Brothers companies. The Regulator’s Determinations Panel has, in relation to both the Nortel and Lehman Brothers pension schemes, issued warning notices of its intention to issue Financial Support Directions (FSDs) against group companies.

The European Commission has opened an in-depth investigation into plans to restructure the Royal Mail.

On 17 May 2011, the GC annulled a Commission decision requiring recovery of state aid from Polish steel producer Technologie Buczek (TB). The case concerned the actions taken by the Polish authorities in implementing a plan to restructure the steel industry. The GC found that the Commission had been correct to find that TB had benefited from a decision by the Polish authorities not to apply for bankruptcy but to allow the company to continue to operate without repaying its debts.