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.

简介

一间公司陷入财政困难时，其中一个重组债务的方法是与债权人订立债务偿还安排（scheme of arrangement）。根据香港法例第622章《公司条例》第673条，法院有权认许债务偿还安排。经法院认许的债务偿还安排将对公司及拟订立该安排的债权人或类别债权人具有约束力。

最近在Re Hong Kong Airlines Limited(香港航空有限公司) [2022] HKCFI 3792一案中，法院需考虑是否认许香港一间大型航空公司提出的债务偿还安排计划。

案情

香港航空有限公司（「该公司」）是一间提供客货空运以及其他航空相关服务的香港公司。由于新冠病毒疫情对航空业界造成严重打击，该公司的现金流周转不灵，合共欠债约490亿港元。除非该公司能将现时债务重组，否则很可能清盘。

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。

Chapter 11 debtors commonly use plans of reorganization to decelerate defaulted loans and reinstate the obligations according to their original terms as a means of locking in favorable terms in an unfavorable market. In order to do so, the Bankruptcy Code requires that the trustee or chapter 11 debtor-in-possession ("DIP") "cure" any defaults under the loan agreement, other than defaults related to a debtor's financial condition ("ipso facto provisions") or penalties payable due to the debtor's breach of certain non-monetary obligations.

Valuation is a critical and indispensable part of the bankruptcy process. How collateral and other estate assets (and even creditor claims) are valued determines a wide range of issues, from a secured creditor's right to adequate protection, postpetition interest, or relief from the automatic stay to a proposed chapter 11 plan's satisfaction of the "best interests" test or whether a "cramdown" plan can be confirmed despite the objections of dissenting creditors.

Are bankruptcy doors now opening for cannabis companies? A decision last week from a California bankruptcy court indicates perhaps so, at least for cannabis companies that are no longer operating.

Factual Background