The world continues to get smaller as a result of globalisation and cross-border insolvency issues are now commonplace. Whilst a debtor company may be subject to insolvency proceedings in one part of the world, its assets may be located in another. Moreover, creditors of the debtor company may be local and foreign, and therefore outside the territorial reach of the court at the seat of the insolvency.
In In re O’Reilly, 598 B.R. 784 (Bankr. W.D. Pa. 2019), the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania denied the petition of a foreign bankruptcy trustee for recognition under chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code of a debtor’s Bahamian bankruptcy case. Although the Bahamian bankruptcy was otherwise eligible for chapter 15 recognition, the U.S.
In line with Bahrain’s Economic Vision 2030, the Kingdom of Bahrain recently introduced Law No. (22) of 2018 promulgating the Restructuring and Insolvency Law (‘New Law’), as a step towards strengthening the legal framework and business ecosystem in Bahrain. The New Law is expected to boost transparency and efficiency in the insolvency process and improve the ease of doing business in Bahrain.
Published on 30 May 2018, and coming into force on 30 November 2018, the New Law repeals the old Bankruptcy and Composition Law (Law No. (11) of 1987).
An important decision was issued last week by the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware in favor of Squire Patton Boggs’ client CCA Bahamas, Inc. (“CCA Bahamas”). The decision provides guidance on when U.S. bankruptcy courts should dismiss cases filed by foreign debtors. See In re Northshore Mainland Services, Inc., et al., Case No. 15-11402 (KJC).
Our tracker contains an overview of changes made in light of the Covid-19 outbreak which impose restrictions on creditor rights, relax debtor obligations to file for insolvency or concern other insolvency-related issues. As you will appreciate, this is a dynamic situation, and both the measures announced and applicable legal framework will continue to evolve in the coming days, weeks and months
The GCC Quarterly Review briefly summarises a selection of the major developments in the laws of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) region (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates) in the third quarter of 2018, with links to further reading, where available.
