Introduction

The recent decision of Metigy Pty Ltd (in liq) (applications for settlement approval) [2023] FCA 818 reminds liquidators and trustees of the prerequisites they must satisfy in seeking judicial advice. Failure to meet these criteria may result in the court refusing to exercise its jurisdiction to give such advice.

The facts

Contemporary Issues: Insolvency and Arbitration in Vietnam A bankruptcy proceeding often brings with it questions as to how creditors might be able to make their claims. For example, tension may arise between the unified dispute resolution procedures under a contract (such as an arbitration agreement) and bankruptcy regulations. By way of the parties’ arbitration agreement, the parties have ostensibly intended, at the outset, for all disputes arising from the underlying contract to be resolved through arbitration.

If bankruptcy proceedings are commenced against a debtor or if a debtor enters into a court-approved composition agreement with an assignment of all of its assets, transactions executed by the debtor during the last five years are subject to scrutiny.

The purpose of claw back claims is to recover assets extracted from or given away by an insolvent debtor for the benefit of its insolvency estate and ultimately its creditors. Transactions may be subject to claw back actions if:

Bill n°7989 amending the law of September 2, 2011 regulating access to the professions of craftsman, trader, industrialist and certain liberal professions (the “2011 Law”), was adopted yesterday, 20 July 2023, by the Luxembourg Parliament. The dispense with the second vote shall be approved by the State Council in the coming days.

The reform modernizes the right of establishment in the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg in order to create a modern legal framework that will stimulate entrepreneurship.

On July 14, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit partially affirmed and partially reversed a district court’s dismissal of an FDCPA suit. The district court reviewed plaintiff’s claims under the FDCPA, which alleged that defendants violated the bankruptcy court’s order discharging his debt and knowingly filed a baseless debt collection lawsuit.

1.1 The overriding objective

(1) The overriding objective of these rules is to enable the court to deal with cases justly.

(2) Dealing justly with the case includes –

(a) ensuring, so far as is practicable, that the parties are on an equal footing;

(b) saving expense;

(c) dealing with cases in ways which are proportionate to the –

(i) amount of money involved;

(ii) importance of the case;

(iii) complexity of the issues; and (iv) financial position of each party;

(d) ensuring that it is dealt with expeditiously; and

The long anticipated law of 7 June 2023 implementing the European Directive on restructuring and insolvency brings about a major reform of Belgian insolvency law. Among various other innovations, it introduces a new judicial reorganisation through collective agreement for large enterprises.

The new law will apply to all procedures opened as from 1 September 2023.

In this second of two client alerts, we will examine to which extent creditors can seek to impose a debt-to-equity swap on shareholders within the new judicial reorganisation for large enterprises.

The Mandatory Provident Fund (MPF) offsetting mechanism will be cancelled on 1 May 2025

By then, Hong Kong employers can no longer offset severance and long service payments owed to employees against MPF benefits derived from employers' contributions. The Hong Kong government decided in July 2023 not to implement the "Specialized Savings Account Scheme" proposed in 2018 which would require employers to create dedicated savings accounts and make 1% contributions to prepare for the abolishment of such MPF offsetting arrangement. 

After a 10-month inquiry process, on 12 July 2023 the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporations and Financial Services (PJC) delivered its final report on the effectiveness of Australia’s corporate insolvency laws.

In this alert, we distil some of the key findings from the almost 400-page report and consider what future law reforms might look like.

A COMPLEX AND INEFFICIENT SYSTEM