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March 2022

Dear Members

I am still carrying in me the images and emotions of our fantastic Annual Congress in Dublin. It felt incredibly good to meet again in person following the Covid-imposed shelfing and hibernation of our live events for more than two years. To be able to reconnect and catch up with good friends, who were so sorely missed during the dark days of the pandemic, and to reignite the passion we share for our organisation and for our industry at large was simply fabulous.

And yet, amidst the sheer joy there was also sadness and outrage as we were – and remain to be - mindful of the violence unfolding as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. What we are witnessing in Ukraine is not just war but crimes of war.

Last night I looked at my family and tried to imagine having to send them away to escape from war. It is more than I can process as a father, husband and son. Yet the people of Ukraine are facing this impossible, heart-breaking reality every day. It is enough to make anybody give in to despair.

But there is also light: inspiring acts of everyday kindness, people stepping up and volunteering in their communities to help those in need. People of all walks of life stand together, united in their condemnation of the war and Russia’s president and his cronies.

At INSOL Europe, we have made our views very clear right at the outset of the conflict. It is a situation we cannot and will not ignore. How we have mobilised since is a testament to the beliefs and values we share.

We are in contact with our Ukrainian members, offering support and guidance. Many of you have opened your homes to refugees from Ukraine and their families, providing food, transportation, toys, comfort and still reaching out regularly to ask what more you can do. Others are coordinating the provision of financial and other critical support, such as housing and work permits for evacuees, helping Ukrainian contacts and their families understand the requirements to get to bordering countries safely. Members and/or their firms have donated generously to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) or set up their own foundations to support humanitarian needs related to Ukraine. Others still are in talks to begin providing pro bono support to the UNHCR in a number of key areas.

There are too many acts of selflessness and heroism to name them all here. Let me just say that we truly shine our brightest when we take care of each other. It is my privilege to be your president; you are an inspiration.

Frank Tschentscher
President INSOL Europe

Frank
Tschentscher
President of
INSOL Europe

This issue is kindly sponsored by:

DLA Piper is a global law
firm with lawyers located
in more than 40 countries throughout the world.
www.dlapiper.com

Back to the Future - Back to live events in Dublin!

INSOL Europe's return to live events after nearly three years took place at the Clayton Burlington Hotel in Dublin from 3-6 March. The event followed part 1, an on-line conference held in 2021 with a development of the main theme.

The event was attended by over 360 delegates plus a contingent from the Judicial Wing as well as many guests from the industry, who were all overjoyed to be able to meet back in person and rekindle old friendships, as well as get up to date with the hot topics of the day.

A full and extensive report by Paul Omar (INSOL Europe Technical Research Co-ordinator) and Myriam Mailly (INSOL Europe Technical Officer) is published on our website. Photos and a short video can also be found on our website so you can see what you missed!

INSOL Europe President Frank Tschentscher welcoming the delegates to Dublin

With thanks to our Congress Main Sponsor:

Academic Forum Conference, Dublin, attracts over 60 delegates

The INSOL Europe Academic Forum Conference took place on 2-3 March 2022 at the Clayton Burlington Hotel in Dublin under the banner 'The Emerging New Landscape of European Restructuring and Insolvency'.

Sponsored by Edwin Coe LLP and facilitated by Tomáš Richter (JŠK, Prague; Chair, IEAF), the event was attended by 64 delegates from nearly 20 different jurisdictions. With a reminder of the need for solidarity, a minute’s silence took place at the beginning of the first day’s proceedings for the victims of conflict in the Ukraine.

An extensive report by Paul Omar (INSOL Europe Technical Research Co-ordinator) and Myriam Mailly (INSOL Europe Technical Officer) is published on our website. Speaker presentations from both days can also be found here.

Christina Fitzgerald of the Academic Forum Sponsor Edwin Coe LLP

Statistics: Simplified Restructuring Proceedings in Poland

Simplified restructuring proceedings have been introduced to the Polish legal order by the Act of 19 June 2020 on interest rate subsidies for bank loans granted to entrepreneurs affected by the effects of COVID 19 and on simplified proceedings for approval of an arrangement in connection with the occurrence of COVID 19 (the UPR Act), the so called Anticrisis Shield 4.0.

The first announcement on opening simplified restructuring proceedings was made in the Court and Commercial Gazzette MSiG in July 2020.

The UPR Act provided for a temporary possibility to initiate and benefit from the simplified proceedings. According to Article 15.2 of the UPR Act, an entrepreneur could announce and open the proceedings only once. After one amendment in this regard, the final date for making an announcement was 30 November 2021.

Karol Tatara and Mateusz Kalinski of TATARA & Partners have produced a report which covers the data gathered during the first year of the functioning of simplified restructuring proceedings - that is, proceedings opened by 30 June 2021, which was to be the first deadline for initiating the proceedings, later extended until 30 November 2021.

You can download the full report here and other useful resources on our website here.

Cross-border Schemes & Plans: Dublin panel update

Many countries have been prompted to revamp their restructuring laws following the EU’s introduction of Directive (EU) 2019/1023 on preventive restructuring frameworks, on discharge of debt and disqualifications, and on measures to increase the efficiency of procedures concerning restructuring, insolvency and discharge of debt (the Restructuring and Second Chance Directive).

A panel of experts at INSOL Europe’s 40th Annual Congress in Dublin compared and contrasted three long-established procedures, Examinership and Schemes in Ireland and Schemes in the UK, with three newer procedures, Restructuring Plans in the UK, WHOA in the Netherlands and StaRUG in Germany. The focus was the schemes’ or plans’ efficacy in cross-border restructuring.

A full report written by panellists: Kathy Stones of LexisPSL (UK), Marcel Groenewegen of CMS (The Netherlands), Michael Murphy of McCann FitzGerald LLP (Ireland), Riaz Janjuah of White & Case LLP (Germany) and chair of the panel session, Chris Laughton of Mercer & Hole (UK) will be published in the Spring edition of Eurofenix.

Inside Story: Evaluating the limits of common law recognition in the UK

In Kireeva & Anor v Bedzhamov [2021] EWHC 2281 (Ch), Snowden J, as he then was, dealt with two applications. The first was an application by Lyubov Andreevna Kireeva, the Russian trustee in bankruptcy (arbitrazh manager) of Georgy Bedzhamov, for recognition at common law of her appointment with a view to enabling her to take control of Mr Bedzhamov’s property and assets in the UK; the second was an application in existing proceedings between Vneshprombank LLC and Mr Bedzhamov, by which the trustee, a non-party, sought an order under Civil Procedure Rule (CPR) 40.9 setting aside part of an order made in March 2021 varying the terms of a worldwide freezing order originally made in 2019.

The variation had the effect of permitting Mr Bedzhamov to sell a Belgrave Square property and use the proceeds of sale to pay accrued and anticipated living expenses, legal fees in connection with the defence of the UK proceedings due to come on for trial in January 2022 and other disbursements.

Read the full story here by Frances Coulson, Robert Paterson and Stephen Baister of Wedlake Bell LLP, London, UK.

Landmark changes to Jersey's creditor's winding up regime

Jersey has recently expanded its insolvency regime by introducing new amendments to the Companies (Jersey) Law 1991, with a key change being that creditors of an insolvent Jersey company may now apply to the court to instigate a creditor's winding up (a procedure which, previously, only a debtor company could commence voluntarily). Other important changes brought about include the granting of power to the Court to appoint a provisional liquidator and the creation of a new Register of Approved Liquidators.

The Companies (Amendment No.8) (Jersey) Regulations 2022 (Amendment No.8), which governs these changes, came into force on 1 March 2022. The new mechanisms and tools it has introduced will serve to afford creditors with high levels of protections and flexibility, maintaining the robustness of Jersey's insolvency regime and, in turn, the jurisdiction's position as an attractive location for international business.

The amendments will serve to ensure that Jersey continues to enjoy its reputation as a leader among the offshore international finance industry by putting into place greater flexibility and protection for creditors, ultimately reassuring companies that a range of options and protective remedies will be available to them in Jersey for the purposes of debt recovery. The amendments demonstrate a continuing intention on the part of the legislature to adapt and improve the existing framework. Specific developments including the production of a publicly accessible register for liquidators and supervisory functions over liquidators on the part of the Viscount, will also have the effect of increasing confidence and transparency in the insolvency process.

A full report by Stephen Alexander and Chazha Hick of Mourant Ozannes (Jersey) will be published in the Spring edition of Eurofenix.

NEW Project: Yearbook 2022 on track for publication in Dubrovnik

As you may remember, the Executive has decided to launch a Yearbook project. During the last months the Editorial Board of the project has worked hard to get the project started. So far we have received and approved 19 proposals for contributions on a broad variety of topics and from a representative spread of INSOL Europe member countries. The Executive and Editorial Board are pleased to inform you that the Yearbook project indeed will go ahead and that the Yearbook is scheduled to be presented during the INSOL Europe Annual Congress in Dubrovnik and will only be made available (for free) to those who registered of this congress.

Updates about the publication will be published on our website.

INSOL Europe Worldwide Digital Assets Case Register

Our new Worldwide Digital Assets Case Register provides a summary of cases and judgements concerning digital assets with an inventory table produced with thanks to the contributions of INSOL Members as well as members of the Insolvency Tech & Digital Assets Wing.

As at 14 March 2022, the table contains relevant information regarding cases from UK, Turkey, Poland, Estonia and the US.

INSOL Europe is grateful to the following contributors for sharing cases of interest with the INSOL Europe members: Lee Pascoe (Norton Rose Fulbright, Australia), Burak Baydar (Moroglu Arseven, Turkey), Piotr Grabarczyk (WKB Wierciński, Kwieciński, Baehr sp.j., Poland), Kirsti PENT (TGS BALTIC, Estonia), David Conaway & Ronald Bruckmann (Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick LLP, USA).

In case you may know a case which can be of interest, please fill in the template and send it to one of the Co-chairs of the Insolvency Tech & Digital Assets Wing (José Carles (Spain), Dávid Oršula (Slovakia), Laurent Le Pajolec (Poland)) by email to: insolvencytech@insol-europe.org

Joint Fraud Conference 2022, London: Less than a week away!

INSOL Europe, R3 and Fraud Advisory Panel are really pleased to shout about our Hybrid Fraud Conference on 30 March. The one-day conference is taking place at the Royal College of Physicians, Regents Park. All attendees have ticket options to suit your needs that allow you to participate virtually or face-to-face for a fantastic in-person experience.

Delegates will have a chance to reconnect and learn from anti-fraud, asset recovery and insolvency practitioners from across the public, private and voluntary sectors. You can find a full list of speakers and programme on the conference website.

Register here: Use the code 10OFFCONF to receive 10% discount off the full price!

Save the date for our next Congress: Dubrovnik, 6-9 October 2022

Plans are now underway for our next Congress, which will take place from 6-9 October 2022 in Dubrovnik, Croatia. For more information please contact Harriet Taylor, Event Manager. For Sponsorship enquires, please contact Hannah Denney.

Delegates who attended Dublin will be eligible for 10% discount in Dubrovnik, so save the date and look out for registration opening soon!

We welcome feedback, news and story ideas for future newsletters.

Please send your suggestions to Paul Newson, CEO & Communications Manager,
email: paulnewson@insol-europe.org.

INSOL Europe, PO Box 7149, Clifton, Nottingham. NG11 6WD

www.insol-europe.org

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Disclaimer: This newsletter is sent to members of INSOL Europe. No responsibility legal or otherwise is accepted by INSOL Europe for any errors, omissions or otherwise. The opinions expressed in the articles that appear are not necessarily shared by any representative of INSOL Europe.

With thanks to our Congress Main Sponsor: