On 4 March 2009, the Office of Public Sector Information published the Bank Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2009 (the Rules) and accompanying explanatory memorandum. The Rules came into force on 25 February 2009 and give effect in England and Wales to the new bank insolvency procedure under Part 2 of the Banking Act 2009.
On 9 February 2009, the Act of 31 January 2009 on the continuity of companies (Loi relative à la continuité des entreprises/Wet betreffende de continuïteit van de ondernemingen, the "Act") was published in the Belgian State Gazette.
The Act – which actually consists of two separate acts for technical reasons - will replace the unsuccessful Act of 17 July 1997 on composition with creditors.
Liquidators will welcome the recent decision of the Director of Corporate Enforcement to reduce their reporting requirement in cases where a decision has been definitively made either to relieve or not relieve them of their statutory obligation to take restriction proceedings against a company's directors.
On November 1 2007 the State Commission for Insolvency presented the Preliminary Bill for an Insolvency Act to the minister of justice. The bill contains rules for the recognition of insolvency proceedings in non-EU countries and the law applicable to foreign proceedings. This update examines those rules and their relationship to the EU Insolvency Regulation and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency.
Case Law
On 6 November 2008, the Belgian House of Representatives adopted a bill on the continuity of companies. Although the Senate has exercised its right to examine the bill and may propose amendments until 26 January 2009, we thought it useful to go ahead and address this new bill, which will replace the Act of 17 July 1997 on composition with creditors (Wet op het gerechtelijk akkoord/Loi sur le concordat judiciaire).
On November 1 2007 the State Commission for Insolvency Law presented the Preliminary Bill for an Insolvency Act to the minister of justice. The most important changes to the existing Bankruptcy Act are outlined in this update.
This update discusses an issue that may arise in relation to the recognition of foreign bankruptcies where the law of the receiving state does not provide for admittance proceedings. This issue recently arose in the Yukos proceedings.
Facts