The Bankruptcy and Diligence (Scotland) Bill was passed by the Scottish Parliament on 6 June 2024 and a date for it coming into force is awaited.

When a contracting party declares bankruptcy, it is crucial to grasp the implications for existing contracts. This article highlights the most important legal ramifications for the non-bankrupt parties involved.

Continuation or Termination

This note updates a series of Tanner De Witt articles on the interaction between dispute resolution clauses and the Court’s insolvency jurisdiction. The previous articles are:

A first in the UK – a restructuring plan under Part 26A to the Companies Act 2006 (Restructuring Plan) has been proposed by a project company in a private finance initiative (PFI) project after a convening hearing was held in the High Court in late May.

The Restructuring Plan seeks to compromise both current and future liabilities arising from a PFI project agreement with an NHS Trust. The hearing to sanction the plan will now be held in July.

Harrington v. Purdue Pharma L.P., No. 23-124

Today, the Supreme Court held 5-4 that the Bankruptcy Code does not allow a bankruptcy court to discharge claims against a non-debtor without the consent of affected claimants.

Regularly the news media reports that a fashion business is in difficulty or is about to, or has gone into, administration. But what is the purpose of administration? What does an Administrator do? Most importantly how should suppliers deal with an Administrator? And what does administration mean for a company’s creditors?

Purpose

With the mass of reports, reviews and consultations that have already occurred, there is no lack of critiques, complaints and proposed solutions. The risk is that these will (once again) be cherrypicked for fixes, rather than form the basis for a comprehensive review.

It has been 33 years since the "recession we had to have" in 1991. Fears that Australia would enter a technical recession during 2023 didn’t eventuate.

In the recent decision of Re PBS Building (Qld) Pty Ltd [2024] QSC 108, the Supreme Court of Queensland considered for the first time the operation of the State’s new project and retention trust account regime in the context of an insolvency. The decision provides useful guidance to insolvency practitioners and subcontractors as to their rights in relation to trust accounts established by an insolvent head contractor.

On June 19, 2024, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) released a discussion paper proposing to bring in significant amendments to the IBBI (Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Process) Regulations, 2016 (CIRP Regulations), aiming to streamline the process, enhance its effectiveness and reduce delays.[1] It complements the plan, unveiled earlier this month, to reduce the compliance burden on insolvency professionals.

Federal Law Decree No 51 of 2023 concerning Financial Restructuring and Bankruptcy (the New Bankruptcy Law) came into effect in the UAE on 1 May 2024 and repealed the previous bankrupcty law, Federal Decree Law No 9 of 2016 (the Old Bankruptcy Law). All regulations issued under the Old Bankruptcy Law remain in force until new regulations are published, which will further clarify a number of points.