On 5 July 2019, the Dutch Ministry of Justice submitted to Parliament a bill, the Act on the Confirmation of Private Plans, seeking to introduce a pre-insolvency procedure in the Netherlands, which one might refer to as the “Dutch scheme”. It is expected or hoped for that the bill will be adopted by Parliament this year and enter into force in January or July next year.
The Dutch scheme combines elements of the UK scheme, such as the ability to implement a plan outside formal insolvency proceedings, with elements of Chapter 11, such as a cram-down mechanism and a moratorium, whilst innovating on both. The result is a fast and flexible restructuring procedure. The Dutch scheme is compliant with, and as such the first procedure to give effect to, the recently adopted EU Restructuring Directive (EU 2019/1023).