Earlier, at the end of last year, on LinkedIn we posted the legal alert below regarding director’s liability in bankruptcy pursuant to section 2:138/248 of the Dutch Civil Code (‘DCC’). Due to the COVID-19 outbreak, legislation has been enacted that grants directors – under specific, COVID-related circumstances – temporary relief from the strict provisions of section 2:138/248 DCC.
In times of crisis such as the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, businesses are required to make important decisions with very significant implications at an accelerated pace and in the face of the unknown. This was the case when governments across the globe ordered borders to shut and non-essential activities to scale down or stop almost a year ago. This remains true as governments have announced and begun implementing plans to restart the economy and financial pressures are mounting rapidly on businesses to resume operations while facing an uncertain economy.
Introduction
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a devastating impact on many businesses, with micro and small companies ("MSCs") being more vulnerable to potential insolvency. Whilst the existing Insolvency, Restructuring and Dissolution Act of 2018 ("IRDA") generally provides restructuring and winding up processes for companies with substantial assets, these processes may not be wholly suited for distressed MSCs which have now been depleted of their already limited resources, as a result of the pandemic.
Im (vorläufigen) Insolvenzverfahren ist es die Aufgabe des Insolvenzverwalters, für den Schutz personenbezogener Daten zu sorgen. Er übernimmt anstelle des ursprünglichen Geschäftsführers/Inhabers die Führung des Unternehmens und wird damit gemäß Art. 4 Nr. 7 Datenschutzgrundverordnung (DSGVO) datenschutzrechtlich verantwortlich. Das gilt nicht nur, wenn personenbezogene Daten für die Zwecke des Insolvenzverfahrens verarbeitet werden, sondern betrifft alle Verarbeitungsvorgänge im schuldnerischen Unternehmen. Ein „Insolvenzprivileg“ kennt das Datenschutzrecht dabei nicht.
Unlike the GFC, which was essentially a liquidity crisis, Australia is likely to face a gradual increase in business insolvencies, rather than the feared ‘insolvency cliff’, as the Federal Government’s COVID-19 stimulus measures are wound down at the end of March.
This week’s TGIF focuses on themes that are emerging as Australia moves to an economic recovery phase and sees the end of government intervention to prevent insolvencies.
Key takeaways
As we cross the one-year anniversary of the COVID-19 pandemic, we reflect on the multiple amendments to the Bankruptcy Code that have been implemented to help curb the effects of various economic shutdowns and financial hardships caused by the coronavirus. These Bankruptcy Code amendments are only temporary, but Congress is considering extending them to facilitate the continued recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Below are five significant, though temporary, amendments to the Bankruptcy Code resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.