In a ground-breaking decision, the Dutch Supreme Court recently found that a foreign bankruptcy trustee may in principle exercise the powers conferred on him under the lex concursus (the law governing the bankruptcy) in the Netherlands as well. Such powers can include the management and disposal of assets located in the Netherlands at the time of the foreign bankruptcy order.
Dutch insolvency practice is increasingly looking for possibilities to effectively restructure failing companies rather than liquidate them in order to safeguard creditors’ interests, and preserve jobs and economic activity. In line with international developments, pre-packs are on the rise and consultation on a bill to regulate pre-packs is currently on-going.
The Dutch Supreme Court on 11 July 2014 handed down a decision that improves the position of licensees in case of bankruptcy of a Dutch licensor, and of other parties deriving a right of use from a Dutch counterparty that goes bankrupt.
Sanctioning of LBT Composition Plan Becomes Final
Recently the Minister of Justice issued a draft bill which, if enacted, will introduce a directorship disqualification order under civil law. The bill is open for consultation until 31 May 2013.
After a company has been declared bankrupt, the liquidator in charge of the bankrupt estate will process personal data on that bankrupt company’s behalf. The liquidator would then be considered a so-called data controller within the meaning of the Dutch Data Protection Act (DDPA).
A Dutch Court of Appeal recently upheld a lower court’s decision that a liquidator has the right to access data concerning the administration of a bankrupt company, the data of which are kept by a third party. It also held that this right, however, does not imply that the third party must provide the data in an orderly manner without being adequately compensated for it.
A Bill has been submitted to the Second Chamber extending the Act on the Collective Settlement of Mass Claims (WCAM) to bankruptcy situations.
The WCAM has been in force since 2005 and enables parties involved in mass claims to apply to the Amsterdam Court of Appeal to declare a settlement binding on all class members. Well-known examples of this are the Court's decisions in DES and in Dexia. A recent decision in Converium shows that the WCAM may also apply to the settlement of mass claims involving a majority of foreign parties.