When parties contract for arbitration of their disputes:
The Act n 16/2022, dated September 5, on the reform of the Recast Insolvency Act, published on September 6, 2022, brings deep and major changes to the existing legislation.
The amendment will come into force on September 26, 2022, twenty days after its publication, and affect both proceedings commencing after entry into force of the legislation and a few parts of proceedings that had commenced earlier.
The differences between the original bill and the approved insolvency reform are shown in the compared version available here.
On August 26, Indiana Bankruptcy Court Judge Jeffrey J. Graham issued an order in the bankruptcy cases of Aearo Technologies (“Aearo” and, together with its affiliate debtors, the “Debtors”), denying the Debtors’ motion for a preliminary injunction protecting non-debtor parent 3M Company (“3M”) against a slew of litigation related to hearing-protection devices that were allegedly defective and resulted in hearing loss and related injuries.
The Hon’ble Delhi High Court vide its order dated May 13, 2022, in Millennium Education Foundation Vs Educomp Infrastructure And School Management Limited, has held that the mere pendency of an insolvency petition under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 is not a bar for appointment of Arbitrator under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act, 1996.
The Principal Bench of National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (“NCLAT”) in its recent order, Rakesh Kumar Jain v. Jagdish Singh Nain & Ors., has inter alia held that Section 14(1)(a) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“IBC”) does not bar passing of any orders under Section 66 of the IBC against the resolution professional during operation of the moratorium imposed under Section 14 of the IBC.
In July, the Government published its report on The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) introducing two new Model Laws with the aim of improving harmonisation of international trade and insolvency procedures: the Model Law on Enterprise Group Insolvency (MLEG) and the Model Law on Recognition and Enforcement of Insolvency-Related Judgments (MLIJ).The Insolvency Service is proposing to adopt the new measures contained in the MLEG and MLIJ as set out below.
The Supreme Court of India (“Supreme Court”) in Sundaresh Bhatt, Liquidator of ABG Shipyard vs. Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs has held that the Customs Act, 1962 (“Customs Act”) and the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (“IBC”) act in their own spheres. In case of any conflict, the IBC would override the Customs Act.
Creditors of distressed businesses are often frustrated by shareholder-controlled boards when directors pursue strategies that appear to be designed to benefit shareholders at the creditors’ expense. In these circumstances, creditors might consider sending a letter to the board to convince the directors to pivot and adopt alternative strategies or face risk of liability for breaching fiduciary duties. The efficacy of this approach depends on many factors, including the company’s financial condition, the board’s composition and the underlying transactions at issue.
In Short
The Situation: As businesses continue to grapple with realising the value of business and assets which are potentially impacted by sanctions related to Russia's war in Ukraine, an English company recently utilised an insolvency process to seek court approval for a proposed divestment.
Directors who oppose company windings up with little more than a hope that a restructuring proposal may bear fruit may have to weigh their actions carefully going forward, following a recent decision by the Hong Kong Companies Court.