Litigation funding can form a useful part of the arsenal of an insolvency practitioner when attempting to maximise the return to creditors. Yet funders can be met with suspicion by creditors and courts alike, depending on the country in which you pursue your litigation.

This break out session sought to highlight key issues for funders and borrowers, and regional differences in how litigation funding is perceived and applied.

Key points

• Automatic stays on proceedings are imposed by Article 20 of the UNCITRAL Model Law (and mirrored in s.130(2) IA 1986)
• The case reinforces the principle that automatic stays are designed to avoid the unnecessary expenditure of assets otherwise available for distribution amongst creditors

The facts

Background

Administration

Administration is a procedure by which a company can be reorganised and its assets realised whilst being protected by a moratorium from actions brought by creditors (explained below).  

Objectives

A company can be put into administration if the objectives of administration are likely to be achieved. These are set out in the Insolvency Act 1986 (the “Act”)4 as:  

First published in The Lawyer on July 18, 2011

Western economies, many With recoveries stalling in investors and creditors are ­considering carefully which jurisdictions will govern their interests in the event of insolvency and what, if anything, can be done to influence the process.

Many investment funds and other vehicles, attracted by tax-neutrality and stability, are incorporated in jurisdictions such as the ­Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands, but with their managers, operations, assets and investors often dispersed globally.

Under the 2000 version of the Global Master Repurchase Agreement (the "GMRA"), a standard form agreement produced by The Bond Market Association and the International Securities Market Association, an Event of Default occurs, and all outstanding transactions under the GMRA are accelerated immediately, upon:

An examination of the impact of an insolvent respondent in an arbitration.

In 2008, the catastrophic effect of the credit crunch spread to most world economies, touching governments, companies and individuals alike. As in previous recessions, insolvency is affecting increasing numbers of individuals and companies. UK government figures show that individual insolvencies went up by 8.8% in the third quarter of 2008, with corporate liquidations up by 10.5% in the same period. Commentators predict that this trend will only accelerate through 2009.

Given the current worldwide economic climate, the number of companies facing insolvency that have assets in multiple jurisdictions around the world has increased dramatically. It is not unusual in today’s global economy for a corporation to have commercial offices, production plants and/ or research facilities in many different countries. A company that is faced with the bleak picture of insolvency may be forced to make decisions on whether to seek protection under a number of different statutory structures.

From modest beginnings, the concept of Cross-Border Insolvency Protocols as a means of enhancing cooperation between administrations in international cases has become an established practice in major cases. From their origins in the International Bar Association’s Cross-Border Insolvency Concordat through the early Protocols in Maxwell Communication and Everfresh Beverages, Protocols have become a mainstay in international reorganizations and restructurings.

Summary

The briefing provides an overview of the reorganisation plan introduced by the new Greek Bankruptcy Code. Its purpose is to set out the more important mechanics of the reorganisation plan and examine its more important ramifications within the bankruptcy process.

The new Greek Bankruptcy Code

Extrajudicial Debt Settlement Procedure and Officers’ Liability in Debt Restructuring June 21, 2017 The long anticipated extrajudicial debt settlement procedure (the “EDS Procedure” or “EDS”) was introduced by Law 4469/2017 to provide an additional option for the rescue of indebted businesses at an early insolvency stage. The current pre-insolvency regime includes the rehabilitation procedure of Law 3588/2007 (the “Greek Bankruptcy Code” or the “GBC”), most recently revised at the end of 2016, and the special administration procedure of Law 4307/2014.