Cram-across: Sino-Ocean Restructuring Plan Makes Waves
The evolution of the English RP continues to push the jurisdictional envelope.
The High Court has considered whether trustees in bankruptcy are in breach of sanctions by allowing sanctioned Russian creditors to participate in UK insolvency proceedings.
Background
A Russian national, resident in London is subject to bankruptcy proceedings both in Russia and the UK. The bankrupt's creditors include four Russian banks in liquidation in Russia. The UK trustees in bankruptcy applied to the court for directions concerning three main questions:
The latest amendment to the Czech Insolvency Act applies a shorter debt discharge period to both entrepreneurs and non-entrepreneurial individuals.
Background
The Czech Parliament has finally approved an amendment to the Czech Insolvency Act, reducing the debt discharge period from five to three years, in line with EU Directive 2019/1023. A key point of contention that delayed the amendment was whether to apply this shortened period not only to entrepreneurs but also to non-entrepreneurial individuals, extending beyond the EU’s minimum requirements.
The English High Court has, for the first time, ordered that security for costs be provided by the plan company in favour of a creditor.
Background
Consort was a contractor under a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) for the development of new hospital facilities for an NHS Trust. It proposed a restructuring plan, primarily directed at compromising its liabilities under the PFI project agreement.
The German Federal Court of Justice (the Federal Court) has considered whether a so-called "weak" preliminary insolvency administrator, entrusted to continue business operations with the management during the preliminary proceeding, may take actions in the interest of these operations, where it is unclear whether the debtor has discontinued the business.
Background
The decision confirms that an arbitration agreement will be upheld in the face of insolvency proceedings only if it can be shown that the petition debt is genuinely disputed on substantial grounds.
In its decision of 6 May 2024, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court (SFSC) clarifies the conditions for a claimant to appeal an interim decision ordering it to provide security for the defendant’s costs due to appearing insolvent or having liquidity problems (case No. 4A_93/2024 [in German]; intended for official publication).
In brief
A selection of newly announced legislation and court decisions reinterpreting private law.
Click here to read in Czech.
In brief
A selection of newly announced legislation and court decisions reinterpreting private law.
Click here to read in Czech
In brief
When would the directors of a company be bound to consider the interest of the company's creditors? This was the issue at the heart of the Singapore Court of Appeal's (SGCA) watershed decision in Foo Kian Beng v OP3 International Pte Ltd (in liquidation) [2024] SGCA 10, which comes hot on the heels of the UK Supreme Court's pronouncements on the same issue in BTI 2014 LLC v Sequana SA and others [2022] UKSC 25.