A recent English Court of Appeal decision has held that legal advice privilege, once established, remains in existence unless and until it is waived. Whether there is no one to waive it; or whether the Crown could have waived it but has not done so; does not matter.

What was the Background to the Case?

The Court of Appeal's recent decision in Bank of Ireland v Eteams (International) Limited brings further important legal clarity for all forms of receivables finance transactions, as well as the "true sale" opinions given by lawyers in the context of such deals.

The Supreme Court has just delivered a judgment confirming the entitlement of a judgment debtor to appoint a receiver by way of equitable execution.

The comprehensive judgment is a useful history lesson in the development and expansion of the right to appoint a receiver by way of equitable execution which derives from the old Judicator (Ireland) Act, 1877.

Background

Judgment was obtained by a bank in February 2011 against two borrowers in the amount of €1,064,747.

The ILP is a regulated common law partnership structure which will be of significant interest to international managers marketing to EU investors and wider global markets.

The Bill seeks to introduce a number of important changes which aim to position the ILP as a leading EU fund vehicle for private equity and sustainable investments.

Although the Bill remains subject to further approval as it passes through the legislative process, this is nonetheless a very positive and welcome development.

Overview

The recent approval by the Irish High Court of a scheme of arrangement that restructured US$1.65bn of liabilities of Ballantyne Re plc (Ballantyne) confirms Dublin as one of the most effective restructuring venues in the EU. The detailed decision of Justice Barniville (available here) offers significant precedential value and is a clear endorsement that Irish schemes can be used to implement complex cross border restructurings. The Irish statute governing schemes is very similar to that of England and Wales.

Essence of the Ballantyne scheme:

The recent publication of the Courts Service Annual Report 2018 highlighted on-going economic and societal changes by way of hard data. In his Foreword to the Report, Chief Justice Frank Clarke references our digital age, noting that “people are used to round-the-clock online access to services”. He adds that the courts “must deal with the twin challenge of facilitating such access while at the same time ensuring that the court process is secure and that cases are allocated the time and consideration they require”.

The Central Bank of Ireland ("CBI") issued a letter to all fund management companies on 7 August 2019 ("Letter") with a timely reminder of their ongoing obligations regarding liquidity management and compliance with legislative and regulatory obligations for UCITS and AIFs. This is in the context of the CBI's continuing engagement with industry on Brexit preparedness, and it stated it will have regard to the Letter as part of its future supervisory engagements.

A recent decision of the Irish High Court puts the spotlight on Ireland as a key restructuring venue in the EU.

Mr Justice Barniville's thorough judgment is a clear endorsement of the use of Irish schemes of arrangement to implement complex cross border restructurings.

Part 9 Scheme of Arrangement

A company that is insolvent or facing insolvency can seek protection from its creditors in the Circuit Court or High Court, depending on the size of the company. During the protection period, creditors cannot seek to recover debts owed to them by the company or assets held by the company. This protection also extends to guarantors of a company’s liabilities, who cannot be pursued under their guarantees for so long as the company is under court protection.

The Land and Conveyancing Law Reform (Amendment) Act 2019 (the “Act”) introduces a list of factors that must be taken into consideration by the Court before an order for possession can be granted or refused. The Act builds upon the protections given to borrowers under the Personal Insolvency legislation, which allows the Court to adjourn proceedings to facilitate a borrower getting a proposal together for a Personal Insolvency Arrangement (“PIA”).