Statutory demand is a common and important tool in the winding up process. But recently, the Hong Kong Court of First Instance has reminded us that it is by no means a must.

One of the temporary measures that was not extended was the disapplication of the wrongful trading rules of section 214 of the Insolvency Act 1986 as regards the personal liability of company directors. The discontinuation of the temporary protection has been criticised by business and most recently by the Institute of Directors (IoD) which commented that "Failing to extend the suspension of wrongful trading rules was a mistake. Without this protection, the pressure is on directors to simply shut up shop when faced with difficulty". Is that concern justified?

The Division Bench of the Hon’ble High Court of Kerala comprising of Chief Justice S Manikumar and Justice Shaji P Chaly in Sulochana Gupta and another v. RBG Enterprises Pvt Ltd and others, has recently ruled that the Writ Jurisdiction of the High Court under Article 226 cannot be invoked to challenge an order passed by National Company Law Tribunal (hereinafter referred to as “NCLT”).

Western financial centres see insolvency proceedings as gateways to potential business rescue. In Asia, insolvency is seen as a procedure ending in liquidation.

IN ASIA, there has traditionally been a stigma associated with corporate insolvencies. The taint of insolvency can be hugely value-destructive; it can destroy the goodwill of the business, and brand the managers and controllers as failures and social outcasts.

When a business is distressed and is due to run out of cash, advisors are often called upon to carry out an accelerated M&A process. Whilst there may be scope for the process to be run on a solvent (share sale) basis, it may need to be implemented on an assets basis, often via a formal insolvency process. Because of the undeniable threat of insolvency, directors of distressed businesses should obtain specialist legal advice on their duties at the earliest possible stage.

Board considerations

The past year has seen some important judgments and hearings (with judgment awaited at the time of writing) on several subjects, some of which may shape the future of UK litigation for years to come. Litigants and litigators have also spent a good part of the year getting used to a new way of conducting litigation—remotely and fully electronically. Starting with contract law, while there has been little by way of Supreme Court guidance on the subject, the lower courts continue to issue interesting judgments.

Being a director is not just about managing and controlling a business; it also involves taking on certain legal duties and obligations. Directors get the benefit of limited liability, but directors' duties impose certain obligations to ensure they act in the best interest of the company, its employees, shareholders – and in certain circumstances, its creditors too.

Welcome to our latest edition of FMCG Express! 2020 continues to be an eventful year, although we are cautiously optimistic that we may be turning a corner in Australia. While COVID-19 continues to cast a shadow over our lives, our cities are starting to show green shoots of life, which is welcome news. Our thoughts are with our families, clients, associates, friends and colleagues in countries where numbers are at very concerning levels. In this edition, we have some useful COVID-19 reading. Siobhan Mulcahy considers the ongoing issues of JobKeeper with casual workers.

Last Friday, October 16, the Proposed Law no. 53/XIV was approved. In addition to providing for exceptional and temporary changes to the existing rules on insolvency proceedings, the Special Revitalization Proceedings ("PER"), the Special Proceedings for Payment Agreements ("PEAP") and the Extrajudicial Company Recovery Scheme ("RERE"), this diploma creates the Extraordinary Company Enablement Procedure ("PEVE").

Het zijn rare tijden. Thuiswerken is de norm geworden. Geen potjes tafeltennis met collega’s, geen gespreken bij het koffieapparaat en een virtuele kennissessie of virtuele vrijdagmiddagborrel is het toch net niet. Gelukkig zijn er ook dingen die wel hetzelfde zijn gebleven: de bestuurdersaansprakelijkheidsupdates van Ploum bij aanvang van een nieuw kwartaal.