The current law regarding insolvency in the UAE is not a comprehensive regime, and the present framework is found across three different laws (mainly in the Commercial Companies Law, as well as the Commercial Transactions Law and the Civil Code). Additionally, companies faced harsh penalties in a bankruptcy scenario, and individuals could also face criminal sanctions and penal sentences. In the wake of low oil prices since 2015, and more companies facing distress, a new bankruptcy law drawing from international best practice will come into force in the UAE, from the beginning of 2017.
Business Secretary Alok Sharma has announced that the government will be introducing measures to “improve the legal options for companies running into major difficulties. The overriding objective is to help UK companies, which need to undergo a financial rescue or restructuring process, to keep trading. These measures will give those firms extra time and space to weather the storm and be ready when the crisis ends”.1
The temporary amendments to the insolvency laws which are being considered include:
- Introduction
On 9 May 2019 the Airline Insolvency Review (the AIR), chaired by Peter Bucks, published its Final Report on passenger protections in the context of airline insolvencies, having been commissioned by the Chancellor of the Exchequer in November 2017 following the high-profile collapse of Monarch Airlines.
Does termination of a contract before the works are complete impact an employer’s ability to recover liquidated damages? This question was recently considered by the English Court of Appeal. The answer? It depends on the terms of the contract. However, it seems that many liquidated damages provisions, including those in currently used standard form construction contracts, may not apply at all on termination of the contract, leaving employers to prove a claim for general damages for delays suffered both before and after termination.
Under the Global Master Repurchase Agreement (the "GMRA"), a standard form agreement produced by The Bond Market Association and the International Securities Market Association, all of the events of default (with one exception) require both (i) the occurrence of an event and (ii) service by the non-defaulting party of a default notice on the defaulting party.
In a case with truly global implications, the Supreme Court of England and Wales held earlier today that judgments of U.S. Bankruptcy Courts against foreign defendants who had not submitted to the Bankruptcy Court’s jurisdiction were not enforceable in England and Wales in the case of Rubin v. Eurofinance SA.
Factual Background
Just a short post to update our previous post on the issue of administrators being obliged to pay rent as an expense of the administration.
Introduction
On 16 December 2011 the special administrators of MF Global UK Limited ("MFG UK") published their proposals for achieving the purpose of the special administration.
Purpose of the proposals
The special administration of MFG has three statutory objectives:
On October 31, 2011 (the “Petition Date”), MF Global, which up to that point had been one of the world’s largest broker/dealer firms, was plunged into insolvency on both sides of the pond. On the Petition Date, MF Global Holdings, Ltd. and MF Global Finance USA, Inc. (the “US Debtors”) each filed voluntary bankruptcy petitions under chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. Contemporaneously with the U.S. bankruptcy filings, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation initiated the liquidation of MF Global, Inc., the U.S.