On 4 February 2025, the latest Draft of the Amended Law on Bankruptcy (“Draft”) was published by the People’s Supreme Court (“SPC”) for public comments. The Draft is prepared to supersede the current Law on Law on Bankruptcy No. 51/2014/QH13 dated 19 June 2014 (“Bankruptcy Law 2014”) and introduces several significant changes that may impact the bankruptcy procedures based on the implementation of the Bankruptcy Law 2014 from its effective date until now.
In a recent ruling (NMC Health PLC (in Administration) v Ernst & Young LLP [2024] EWHC 2905 (Comm)), the High Court declined to order disclosure of witness statements and transcripts of interviews conducted by administrators during their initial investigations, citing litigation privilege.
Litigation privilege
The Court of Appeal has recently clarified an important aspect of cross-border enforcement in insolvency proceedings. In Servis-Terminal LLC v Drelle [2025] EWCA Civ 62, the Court of Appeal ruled that a foreign judgment cannot be used as the basis for a bankruptcy petition in England and Wales unless it has first been recognised by an English court.
Summary
On 23 December 2022, the Pre-Insolvency Act (Chapter 631 of the Laws of Malta) (“Pre-Insolvency Act”), came into force, introducing new preventive restructuring procedures. The Pre-Insolvency Act marks a significant advancement in the Maltese restructuring framework, complementing the pre-existing debt restructuring mechanisms, which include:
Cram-across: Sino-Ocean Restructuring Plan Makes Waves
The evolution of the English RP continues to push the jurisdictional envelope.
While there was a sharp rise in the number of insolvencies opened in Austria, particularly in the real estate sector, the number of insolvencies opened in many other countries has not changed despite inflation and rising interest rates. This is also confirmed by the following overview: almost half of our Schoenherr offices have seen a change, while the situation in the other half has remained unchanged.
The map below gives an overview of the answers to these two questions:
Among the many financial innovations that came out of the COVID era, non-pro rata uptier transactions as a liability management exercise (“LMEs”) are among the more controversial. While lawsuits challenging non-pro rata uptier transactions are making their way through the courts, two important decisions were recently issued by the Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the New York Appellate Division.
Introduction
Insolvency and arbitration traditionally do not mix well, as they embody somewhat contrasting legal policies. The Singapore Court of Appeal highlighted in Larsen Oil and Gas Pte Ltd v Petroprod Ltd (in official liquidation in the Cayman Islands and in compulsory liquidation in Singapore) [2011] 3 SLR 414 that:
In Servis-Terminal LLC v Drelle [2025] EWCA Civ 62, the English Court of Appeal held that a bankruptcy petition cannot be presented based on an unsatisfied foreign judgment where the foreign judgment has not been recognised in that jurisdiction. This update considers the effect that decision may have on statutory demands and applications for the appointment of liquidators based on unrecognised foreign judgments in the British Virgin Islands.
The Hierarchy of the Courts of the Eastern Caribbean