A bill containing an entirely new Insolvency Code was presented to the House of Representatives on 20 April 2017. The need for a robust insolvency framework has received substantial attention due to the ongoing economic and financial crisis. Many European countries have recently modernised their insolvency legislation or are in the process of doing so.
In the framework of the digitization of the Belgian judiciary, a central Solvency Register (www.regsol.be) will be available as of 1 April 2017.
Henceforth, creditors must file their claims electronically. The register will be accessible - subject to different procedural formalities - to magistrates, including substitute judges, clerks of court and public prosecutors as well as bankrupt parties, their creditors and counsel.
On 28 March 2017, the Australian Government announced its proposals to reform the law relating to insolvent trading, and the right to terminate contracts based on insolvency ('ipso facto clauses').
In a judgment of 24 March 2017 (in Dutch), the Supreme Court of the Netherlands upheld the longstanding requirement that for a debtor to be declared bankrupt, there need to be at least two creditors.
Maxcon Constructions Pty Ltd v Vadasz (No 2)
Significance
Introduction
On 18 January 2017, Regulation (EU) No 655/2014 (the "Regulation") will become fully applicable. It will henceforth be possible to obtain in any EU Member State, with the exception of Denmark and the United Kingdom, a preservation order for bank accounts of a debtor situated in another Member State.
The Regulation introduces at the European level a certain degree of transparency in terms of the debtor's assets.
The Federal Court of Australia has handed down a decision that is a salutary reminder to directors that, in any corporate tax planning, it is important not to miss the forest for the trees. In a recent Federal Court of Australia decision, contentious tax planning was found to constitute a breach of directors’ duties for the directors involved, resulting in them becoming personally liable for ATO debts of the company.
What happened?
Earlier intervention in case of distress to preserve value and save jobs. That is the goal of the proposed 'EU Business Restructuring Directive', which was presented yesterday by the European Commission and aims to ensure a minimum harmonization of restructuring procedures within the European Union.