International Insolvency Review最新文献

This article focuses on the apportionment and distribution of post-filing pre-conversion increases in equity of assets in a debtor’s estate when a debtor converts from a Chapter 13 to a Chapter 7 bankruptcy proceeding. Through an examination of the history of the US Bankruptcy Code and adequate examination of differing approaches, this article argues that courts should adopt the position that the post-filing increase in equity due to appreciation should inure to the estate rather than to the debtor, while the increases in equity through payback plans should inure to the debtor. This approach creates the fairest situation for a debtor, placing them in a situation where they receive the full benefits of the Chapter 13 bankruptcy proposition and provides sufficient economic benefits to creditors.

Ongoing legislative responses to the impacts of the pandemic have prompted many countries to evaluate whether their bankruptcy systems remain fit for purpose. Moreover, the current climate highlights the importance of data-driven policy, which the literature identifies as a deficiency of bankruptcy regimes. In Australia, the 2015 reform proposals to reduce the default discharge period from 3 years to 1 year are currently being revised amidst stakeholder concern about potential abuse and repeat bankrupts. Although an extensive body of literature exists on ‘repeat filers’ in the USA, there has been no equivalent study in Australia. Using our data of 153,526 bankruptcies between 2007 and 2021, we conducted a novel application of survival analysis to predict the probability of a repeat bankruptcy comparing business and non-business groups. The results show that this probability peaked in both male and females with non-business-related administrations irrespective of client's age, employment and relationship status. These findings are important as they identify the prospects that certain bankrupt groups have higher rates of repeat bankruptcy, which can inform strategies to improve their survival rate. A significance of our study is the development of a high-quality longitudinal dataset that facilitates the extension of the data models and allows easy updates about targeted questions involving bankruptcy-related policy shifts and impacts on sub-populations. This methodological approach will enable regulators and insolvency experts to address concerns of repeat bankruptcy to guide policy, evaluate reform and extend the evidence base in other jurisdictions.

The impact of an exclusive jurisdiction clause on a winding-up petition is settled in the English and Singaporean common law jurisdictions. In Hong Kong, the matter has recently been decided in the case of Re Guy Kwok Hung Lam (2023) 26 HKCFAR 119. Nonetheless, a similar issue has been brought up again in the cases of Re Simplicity & Vogue Retailing (HK) Co Ltd [2023] HKCFI 1443 (HCCW 457/2022, 30 May 2023) (per Linda Chan J) and Re Shandong Chenming Paper Holdings Ltd [2023] HKCFI 2731 (HCCW 175/2017, 25 October 2023) (per Harris J). The different approaches adopted in the two cases have sparked on the correct appraoch to be adopted. This article briefly introduces the different appraoches and suggest that the correct approach is to stay a winding-up petition in favour of an arbitration proceeedings launched purusant to an arbitration agreement.

This article critically examines corporate restructuring plans and schemes in the United Kingdom and United States and third-party releases in the context of such corporate restructurings. So far, the practice has been more extensively examined in the United States rather than the United Kingdom and the practice has been castigated as ‘debt grifting’, that is, third parties getting the benefit of a bankruptcy discharge without going through the formal bankruptcy process. This article acknowledges some of these criticisms. It also suggests that, if third-party releases become more widespread in the United Kingdom, this is likely to militate against the success of the United Kingdom as an international corporate restructuring venue. This is particularly the case if the underlying debt is disputed or gives rise to social or political controversy. The article is divided into five parts. After the first introductory part, the second part will examine how debts are restructured in the large corporate context in the United Kingdom and how third-party releases are important for this endeavour. The third part will examine the equivalent position in the United States. The fourth part explores how the restructuring solutions currently on the table push up against the limits of contractually derived solutions. The final part concludes.

There is significant scope for empirical research in the field of corporate insolvency law. This paper seeks to make a valuable contribution to this field of research. It features analysis of data regarding all insolvent liquidations in Scotland that had their end point within a period of a year, specifically 1 October 2019-30 September 2020 (even if the liquidations commenced prior to that period). A dataset was compiled using information from final accounts documentation for liquidations available from the UK's companies register. Following the introduction, the paper provides background and context for corporate insolvency in Scotland, with particular reference to liquidation and the rules relating to creditors. The section also includes comparisons with the law of England and Wales. The paper then moves on to discuss the empirical methodology adopted and how the relevant data was obtained. This is followed by results and analysis focused on: the asset values of companies in the study, the lifespan of those companies, the timespan of their liquidations, the levels of liquidation expenses, the recoveries of creditors (including secured, preferential and ordinary unsecured creditors), and the role of HMRC in liquidations, as a petitioner and in terms of paying liquidation expenses. The paper contains a number of significant findings regarding each of these matters. It supports the case for a streamlined liquidation procedure for smaller companies and for the introduction of an official receiver in Scotland (while also justifying the existence of the official receiver in England and Wales). Lastly, after the identification of some limitations regarding the analysed data, the paper highlights potential lines of further research building upon this study, including expanding the time periods examined, comparing the data for Scotland with data for other jurisdictions, most obviously England and Wales, and the consideration of corresponding data for other insolvency procedures.

It is a commonly held belief that there exists a sense of stigma around insolvency, which explains the low uptake of rescue procedures in the United Kingdom and around the world. We assess the accuracy of this claim through two qualitative studies. The first is conducted through interviews with corporate directors in the United Kingdom. The second study is a comparative literature review in selected jurisdictions. The literature review reveals a prominent stigma narrative in policy and legal texts, whereas the interview data reveal only moderate levels of stigma. Rather, they indicate that a lack of knowledge and understanding of insolvency (concept, law and procedures) may be a more powerful factor in explaining why corporate directors do not file for rescue procedures.

The article presents an empirical study of English corporate insolvencies initiated between December 2016 and December 2018. The research focuses on creditors' voluntary liquidations (‘CVLs’), the most frequently occurring insolvency procedure. It also looks at a few administrations and compares findings with CVLs to analyse which procedure may lead to better returns to creditors. The article highlights key statistics such as the average costs of procedures and the impact of the prescribed part fund on distribution. Further, the study assesses HMRC's potential debt recovery following its return as a preferential creditor and discusses whether Crown preference is justified. Given that data analysis on the practicalities of distribution during insolvency is lacking, the empirical study arguably helps fill a gap in the literature. Essentially, the article provides quantitative data on the practicalities of distribution and assesses the impact of the order of priority on repayment to creditors.

In this article, the author examines with a specific focus on the Insolvency Practitioner to what extent the Recast European Insolvency Regulation's provisions on communication, cooperation and coordination between the main actors in group companies' insolvency proceedings allow for efficient restructurings of those group companies. In doing so, the author will, at points, compare the provisions in Chapter V of the Recast European Insolvency Regulation to—and draw inspiration from—the German provisions on groups of companies that were adopted into the German Insolvency Act (Insolvenzordnung) and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law's Model Law on Enterprise Group Insolvency. The author also aims to outline, among other things, the various forms of (cross-border) communication, cooperation and coordination that the Recast European Insolvency Regulation obligates insolvency practitioners of groups of companies to engage in, how they should implement those forms of ‘CoCo’ and what would happen if they fail to comply with those obligations. This article is Part I of a diptych on this topic, Part II of which will be published in a subsequent issue of this journal.