The Belgian legislator is preparing a legal framework on insolvency law to expand the restructuring toolbox. On 26 March 2023, a draft bill was published transposing EU Directive 2019/1023 on restructuring and insolvency. The Bill should be voted before the summer holidays. Our Restructuring & Insolvency team has identified five things you need to know about the upcoming changes.
On 28 September 2022, the Parliamentary Joint Committee on Corporate and Financial Services (“Committee”) began an inquiry into corporate insolvency in Australia, the first of its kind in over 30 years. The Committee invited submissions from interested persons and stakeholders to provide recommendations on how best to improve Australia’s corporate insolvency framework. Submissions have now closed, with contributions from over 50 industry bodies, government bodies and various representative bodies and groups.
A two-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India (“Supreme Court”) in its recent judgment Abhishek Singh v. Huhtamaki PPL Ltd.
Current economic conditions and market instability are likely to see more Australian companies fall into distress in 2023 — creating both opportunities for proactive restructuring as well as distressed asset sales.
That's one of the predictions in this year's edition of From Red to Black, Clayton Utz's annual review of the dynamics of Australia's Restructuring and Insolvency (R&I) market.
The German Federal Court (BGH) has confirmed that section 166 of the German Insolvency Code (InsO) does not provide the administrator with a right to use or realise secured assets for the benefit of the insolvency estate other than movable assets or claims assigned by way of security.
Background
Under section 166 InsO an insolvency administrator may realise a movable asset in which a right to separate satisfaction exists if it is in the administrator's possession. The same applies to claims assigned by way of security.
The European Union (Preventative Restructuring) Regulations 2022 (the “Restructuring Regulations”) were introduced on 27 July 2022 with immediate effect.
You can read our overview of the regulations, specifically the changes they impose on the examinership process and a short overview of the changes imposed on the Companies Act 2014, here.
The so-called crypto-winter and associated high profile insolvencies of major players such as FTX, Three Arrows Capital and Genesis may have dampened enthusiasm for this new asset class in some quarters. However, while volatility is likely to be an ongoing characteristic in the short and medium term, it is probably better to view recent events as a period of market correction rather than the "beginning of the end" of crypto assets.
The future for a new class of digital assets
Restructuring proceedings in Hungary provide a more flexible solution than bankruptcy and liquidation proceedings and potentially an effective alternative for companies in financial difficulties.
Key benefits
Commencement pre-insolvency
Facts:
On 17 February 2023, Justice Ball of the New South Wales Supreme Court handed down his decision in Kennedy Civil Contracting Pty Ltd (Administrators Appointed) v Richard Crookes Construction Pty Ltd; In the matter of Kennedy Civil Contracting Pty Ltd [2023] NSWSC 99.
Facts