What does it mean to own something? When should the law acknowledge that somebody really owns something, even if they don't formally own it?

And when will courts recognize the economic reality that one person — say, a judgment debtor — in truth owns something, notwithstanding that person's painstaking efforts to keep formal legal title in the hands of others?

The law has long recognized doctrines to disregard the existence, or pierc the veil, of corporate entities to which a debtor has transferred assets.

Bankruptcy benefits for individual debtors are a tough sell—always have been. That’s because no one likes bankruptcy—unless they need it.

But relieving people from debts in unfortunate circumstances is essential to our collective way of life in these United States. That’s always been true.

What follows is the third of three installments on some history of bankruptcy laws through the ages, beginning with ancient times—and to the present in these United States.

Bankruptcy Code

Due to their clear structure and organisation, insolvency proceedings are ideally suited for digitalisation processes. It is therefore more than surprising that despite Austria's pioneering role in the digitalisation of the justice system with its Justice 3.0 project, there has been no significant development in the expansion of digitalisation in insolvency proceedings since the early 2000s. The situation is different in Croatia, however, where the new Insolvency Act came into force in 2015 and was used as an opportunity to open the path towards digitisation.

The Bankruptcy Code confers "administrative expense" priority status on the claims of vendors for the value of goods that are shipped in the ordinary course of business and received by a debtor within 20 days of filing for bankruptcy. It also provides vendors and other creditors with various defenses to the avoidance of preferential payments received from the debtor during anywhere from 90 days to one year before filing for bankruptcy, depending upon whether the creditor is an "insider" of the debtor.

The Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners (STEP) held its annual International Wealth Structuring Forum in the Cayman Islands on 19 and 20 January 2023 at the Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman. The forum was an opportunity for leading trust and wealth management professionals to gather and discuss the latest local and international developments impacting the industry. Hector Robinson KC and James Anson-Holland of Mourant attended the forum and have summarised the top three takeaways from the panel discussions.

The mercurial modern assets

The ability of a bankruptcy trustee or chapter 11 debtor-in-possession ("DIP") to assume, assume and assign, or reject executory contracts and unexpired leases is an important tool designed to promote a "fresh start" for debtors and to maximize the value of the bankruptcy estate for the benefit of all stakeholders. Bankruptcy courts generally apply a deferential "business judgment" standard to the decision of a trustee or DIP to assume or reject an executory contract or an unexpired lease.

１  はじめに

令和３年１０月、内閣に新しい資本主義実現本部（以下「実現本部」）が設置され、その具体化を進めるために、新しい資 本主義実現会議（以下「実現会議」）が開催されました。同年１

１月には実現会議から「緊急提言（ 案）」が公表され、また、令和４年６月には実現本部から「新しい資本主義のグランドデザ イン及び実行計画（案）」やその工程表等が公表されました。

その中で、多数決による私的整理手続が検討されており、令和４年１０月には、「新たな事業再構築のための法制度の方向性（案）」¹が公表されました。

今回は、この「新たな事業再構築のための法制度の方向性

（ 案）」の概要と、このような検討がなされた背景（現状の私的整理手続の課題）についてご紹介いたします。

２  現状の私的整理手続とその課題（全員同意）

私的整理手続は、窮境にある事業者が、主に金融機関からの借入金債務を対象として、支払時期の繰延べ（以下「リスケジュール」）又は債権放棄を求める内容を含む事業再生計 画案を立案して対象債権者に提示し、全対象債権者の同意を得て、事業再生計画案に沿って再建を図る手続です。

The concept of “property of the estate” is important in bankruptcy because it determines what property can be used or distributed for the benefit of the debtor’s creditors. Defined by section 541 of the Bankruptcy Code, “property of the estate” broadly encompasses the debtor’s interests in property, with certain additions and exceptions provided for in the Code. See 11 U.S.C. § 541. Difficult questions can arise in a contractual relationship between a debtor and a counterparty about whether an entity actually owns a particular asset or merely has some contractual right.

Background to this overview

The below overview is deemed to be a high-level overview providing the general outlines of the legal Luxembourg framework applicable to the members of the management board in private limited liability companies (sociétés à responsabilité limitée) (an “SARL”) in times of financial distress.

One year ago, we wrote that, in early 2021, it was widely anticipated that the unprecedented pressure the COVID-19 pandemic brought to bear on the U.S. economy would lead to a boom in corporate bankruptcy filings. That boom never materialized. Instead, business bankruptcy filings in the U.S. plummeted in 2021. That trend continued until the last quarter of 2022.