Der britische Wähler hat gesprochen und sich mit knapper Mehrheit für den Austritt des Vereinigten Königreichs aus dem „Projekt Europa“ entschieden.

Obwohl noch nicht feststeht, wann die Briten Artikel 50 des EU-Vertrags aktivieren werden, lohnt es sich bereits jetzt, über die rechtlichen Konsequenzen eines Austritts nachzudenken. Denn sollte es hierzu kommen, bleibt dieser – gerade im sensitiven Bereich des grenzüberschreitenden Rechtsverkehrs - nicht folgenlos:

1.Mögliche Unwirksamkeit von Gerichtsstandsvereinbarungen zugunsten britischer Gerichte

In the recent case of Greece v Stroumpoulis on 25 February 2016, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) decided that EU protections under the Insolvency Directive apply to EU residents working in the EU, regardless of whether their employer is an EU company. The ECJ reached this decision based on the social objective of the Insolvency Directive, irrespective of the maritime waters on which the vessel sailed.

Introduction

1. Inleiding

Dit is onze halfjaarlijkse nieuwsbrief over ontwikkelingen op het gebied van het Nederlandse vennootschaps- en ondernemingsrecht. In deze Corporate Update geven wij eerst een overzicht van enkele wetswijzigingen. Verder gaan we in op de stand van zaken van een aantal lopende wetsvoorstellen en tot slot signaleren wij nog enkele overige actualiteiten.

Back to the future – but no idea when What Brexit could mean for the Anglo-European restructuring industry What happens now? On 23 June 2016, the UK voted to leave the European Union. The nature of the UK’s relationship with the EU and the rest of the world, post-Brexit (if and when Brexit happens), is uncertain. So what do we know? Actually, we do know several things: – Legally speaking, the referendum result has no immediate effect. It is only advisory.

This edition of Global Insight comes to you shortly after the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union.

Brexit is now a reality; what lies ahead for restructuring and insolvency law? These views are limited to English law and do not apply to credit institutions and insurance undertakings, which are subject to their own regimes in the UK and across the EU.

What, when, how? No change in the short term

On 23 June 2016 a 52% majority of the British people voted in favour of leaving the European Union. It seems likely that the immediate effect of the Brexit vote will be a degree of turmoil in the financial markets, involving, for instance a devaluation of Sterling against the Euro and of the Euro against the USD.

The true effects of the events of the last few days have yet to be seen. With the mainstream political parties acting like participants in a ‘Compose a Greek Tragedy’ competition, a government unlikely to exercise any meaningful executive functions until autumn (at least), the currency and financial markets in turmoil and the future uncertain on a range of factors, it is tempting to succumb to a condition of inaction whilst waiting to see how the cards fall.

The only certainty following the referendum is that exiting the EU will substantially alter the legal landscape from a recovery and insolvency viewpoint.

Over the past few years the various EU members have been working hard to eradicate or minimise inconsistencies between the individual regulations which have led to not only confusion but also “forum shopping” by those facing insolvency. The idea is to provide a level playing field so that businesses in particular knew where they stood should a company in another country get into trouble.