La Cour d'appel de Luxembourg décide que le jugement de clôture de faillite pour insuffisance d'actifs ne met pas un terme aux opérations de faillite, mais en suspend les opérations.
La survie d'une société au terme des opérations de faillite diffère selon l'actif récupéré par le curateur.
Les sociétés commerciales dont les opérations sont clôturées pour insuffisance d'actif restent inscrites au registre de commerce.
On 19 August 2016, the new law of 10 August 2016 on the modernization of the company law was published in Luxembourg's Official Journal (Mémorial A, n° 167) following its adoption by Parliament on 13 July 2016. The new law will enter into force 3 days following this publication date, i.e., on 23 August 2016.
The new rules will become immediatly applicable on August 23, although companies incorporated before that date will benefit from a 2-year grace period to amend their articles of association.
Luxembourg’s modernisation of the Companies Act of 1915 was formally adopted on 13 July 2016, and includes changes to company liquidation, incorporation and capital increase procedures.
Three-step liquidation
The number of companies declared bankrupt in Luxembourg has increased tremendously since 2009, reaching a record number of 1,026 in 2012. According to the Luxembourg authorities, this situation is mainly due to the current legislation, which is obsolete and no longer suited to modern financial difficulties.
In 2009, the Luxembourg government decided that the creation of appropriate tools for companies in financial distress was extremely important, especially in the post-crisis period, and decided to tackle this subject.
In the recent decision of Cubic Electronics Sdn Bhd (in liquidation) v Mars Telecommunications Sdn Bhd [2019] CLJ 723 (“Cubic Electronics”), the apex court of Malaysia revisited the principles on forfeiture of deposits and the treatment of liquidated damages clauses in contracts.
FACTS
Covid-19: Should Malaysia adopt Specific Law?
There are various winding up procedures to which a Maltese-registered company may be subjected in terms of Maltese law. Amongst the said modes of action is what is known as the members’ voluntary winding up. This refers to the solvent voluntary liquidation of a company and specifically necessitates that the company in questionwill be able to pay off its debts in full within a period not exceeding12 months from the proposed date of dissolution.
General
The novel coronavirus has brought about many unforeseen circumstances which have unfortunately led many businesses to end in difficult financial situations. According to the Maltese Companies Act (Cap. 386 of the Laws of Malta), a company which is presently unable to pay its debts, or is very likely that it will be unable to pay its debts in the near future, has the possibility to either dissolve and consequently wind-up the company or recover the company.