Executive Summary
The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (the “Act”) came into force on 26 June 2020 and introduces both temporary provisions linked to the coronavirus pandemic and more permanent changes to the insolvency framework. The key measures can be summarised as below.
Temporary measures
Wrongful trading
Guidance for companies and company directors in Northern Ireland.
Overview
The adverse trading position caused by the COVID-19 situation is significantly impacting the majority of companies and is also bringing the duties of directors – particularly those relating to directors’ actions when a company is in difficulty or insolvent – into sharp relief.
With the measures in place to deal with the COVID-19 situation, volatility and disruption continue to affect Northern Ireland. As a leading full-service law firm, Arthur Cox is ideally placed to mobilise multi-disciplinary teams of lawyers to provide advice and support to organisations.
1. INTRODUCTION
1. In May 2019, the UK Jurisdiction Taskforce ("UKJT"), a subsidiary of the UK's LawTech Delivery Panel, issued a consultation paper on the status of cryptoassets and smart contracts in English private law ("Consultation Paper"). In his foreword to the Consultation Paper, Sir Geoffrey Vos, Chancellor of the High Court of England and Wales (the "Chancellor") commented that "perceived legal uncertainty" was the reason for some lack of confidence amongst market participants and investors in cryptoassets and smart contracts.1
The Supreme Court has again urged the legislature to consider whether the outright prohibition on professional litigation funding and the assignment of bare causes of action continues to be warranted as the ever-increasing cost of litigation is putting access to the courts beyond the reach of many.
While the Court accepted that this is an area in need of careful and considered legislative reform, it warned that unless a real effort is made by the legislature to improve access to justice, it will have "no option" but to step in, "undesirable and all as unregulated change might be."
With two decisions (No. 1895/2018 and No. 1896/2018), both filed on 25 January 2018, the Court of Cassation reached opposite conclusions in the two different situations
The case
The Constitutional Court (6 December 2017) confirmed that Art. 147, para. 5, of the Italian Bankruptcy Law does not violate the Constitution as long as it is interpreted in a broad sense
The case
With the decision No. 1195 of 18 January 2018, the Court of Cassation ruled on the powers of the extraordinary commissioner to require performance of pending contracts and on the treatment of the relevant claims of the suppliers
The case
Can we learn sufficient lessons from Carillion to avoid construction related insolvency closer to home?
1. PUTTING INSOLVENCY ON THE AGENDA