On 29 September 2020, the Dutch Senate’s justice committee decided that the Dutch Scheme bill can be dealt with as a formality (hamerstuk) without further debate. It did so after the Dutch Government submitted to the Dutch Senate’s justice committee its memorandum of reply (Memorie van Antwoord) regarding the Dutch Scheme, or to use the full title: the Act on confirmation of private restructuring plans (commonly referred to as the WHOA, after its Dutch acronym). This blog highlights the various topics covered in the memorandum of reply.
What have we been up to?
The days and nights may well be getting noticeably cooler, but as a team we remain very much at simmer point in terms of the demands of newlyacquired business support and insolvency work and staying on top of recent legislative changes.
Amongst this month's work highlights have been:
(In Provisional Liquidation in Bermuda)
We recently acted for the joint provisional liquidators of Rare Earth Magnesium Technology Group (“the Company”) appointed by the Supreme Court of Bermuda in a conventional application for the recognition of the Bermuda soft-touch provisional liquidation of the Company
The Company was incorporated in Bermuda and is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange with operating subsidiaries in Mainland China.
On Friday 18 September 2020 the German Federal Ministry of Justice published draft legislation which has the potential of fundamentally changing the restructuring landscape in Germany.
An essential part of the law is the introduction of a corporate stabilisation and restructuring regime, which establishes a comprehensive legal framework for out-of-court restructurings in Germany on the basis of the EU Restructuring Directive of 20 June 2019 (Directive (EU) 2019/1023) (the Preventive Restructuring Framework).
The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act, which received Royal Assent on 25 June 2020, contains a range of significant reforms, not least of which is the introduction of a new Restructuring Plan process dubbed the Super Scheme. The first such Restructuring Plan, used in the financial restructuring of Virgin Atlantic Airways (VAA), was sanctioned by the High Court on 2 September 2020 representing a new landmark in the UK restructuring landscape.
The economic hardships brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted companies globally, leading many to consider both in-court and out-of-court restructurings. Because this trend will likely continue as the long-term effects of COVID-19 play out, companies with arbitration clauses in their commercial agreements may wish to consider the impact of insolvency on their options for pursuing pending or future arbitrations.
On 12 August 2020, we wrote about three important judicial decisions of the courts in England and Singapore relating to the enforcement of arbitration agreements over claims arising under insolvency laws.
With narrow exceptions, when a bankruptcy petition is filed, an “automatic stay” comes into effect which prevents the commencement or continuation of any litigation or proceeding against the debtor or property of the bankruptcy estate. Bankruptcy courts may grant “relief” from the automatic stay to allow a creditor to continue litigation filed against the debtor in a non-bankruptcy forum before the bankruptcy case was filed.
- At the 11th hour the Government has, effective today, 29 September, extended some (but not all) of the temporary provisions (which were due to expire on 30 September 2020) introduced by the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (“CIGA” or “the 2020 Act”): see here.
