Minister of Justice Koen Geens has abandoned the introduction of the 'silent bankruptcy' following a judgment of 22 June 2017 of the European Court of Justice.
Background
Under German law, when a company becomes insolvent or over-indebted, its directors are obliged to file for insolvency. If they fail to fulfil this duty, according to s 64 German limited liability company Act (GmbHG) from this point in time onwards, they have to compensate the company for those payments which (objectively) would not have been made by a prudent businessman. Such imprudence is presumed.
In practice, s 64 is one of the most powerful tools available to insolvency administrators claiming against directors.
On June 26, 2017, the recast EU regulation on insolvency proceedings1 (the Recast Insolvency Regulation) came into force.
Existing Legislation
Op 22 juni 2017 heeft het Hof van Justitie van de Europese Unie antwoord gegeven op een vraag die de gemoederen lang bezig heeft gehouden, namelijk: gelden de regels van overgang van onderneming ook in geval van een doorstart na een pre-pack faillissement?
From 26 June 2017 an enhanced EU regime governing the commencement, recognition and enforcement of insolvency and restructuring proceedings throughout the EU will come into effect. The principal aim of the new regime is to encourage a corporate rescue culture within the EU.
The pre-pack procedure is not having an easy time of it. In a previous blog, we reported that the advocate general of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) had concluded that the Dutch pre-pack procedure cannot be regarded as bankruptcy or liquidation proceedings, and that the provisions for transfer of undertaking therefore also apply to pre-packs. The ECJ has now confirmed his standpoint.
The reform of the European insolvency regulation (EIR) comes into force in mid-2017. Inter alia, it will alter the rules on which jurisdiction is competent to open insolvency procedures.
Legal Background
If a debtor needs to file for insolvency, there are two main ways of manipulating the existing legal competence rules:
As 26 June 2017 approaches – the date of entry into effect of the Recast EU Insolvency Regulation (2015/8484/EU) – we look in detail at the new provisions for co-ordinating the insolvency proceedings of members of a pan-European group of companies and consider whether the new proposals for co-operation will be compulsory, the practicalities of who will pay the co-ordinator’s fees and whether the creditors can have a say in the process.
BACKGROUND
For the benefit of our clients and friends investing in European distressed opportunities, our European Network is sharing some current developments.
Recent Developments