UK Corporate Insolvency Law
⦁ What is corporate insolvency law and what is it for?
⦁ What are the principal characteristics of insolvency proceedings in England & Wales and internationally?
⦁ Aims of a ‘good modern’ corporate insolvency law?
⦁ Any theories of insolvency law that can help explain/justify the principles and purposes of insolvency law?
⦁ Does communitarianism underpin rescue?
⦁ Does English and Wales insolvency law match its underpinning policy aims and has there been a carefully thought through theory?
⦁ Rescue Culture (Finch & Milman Corporate Insolvency Law, pp.197-242, 301-442.)
Example Questions:
⦁ What are the characteristics of companies going into liquidation? What are these drivers of insolvency?
⦁ Distinguish LPA receivers, debenture receivers and administrative receivers.
⦁ What were the ideas/issues/purposes behind the original introduction of the administration procedure?
⦁ Does CIGA 2020 bolster the ‘rescue culture’?
⦁ Why are pre-pack administrations a problem?
⦁ Covid 19 & insolvency (Allinson, S. The Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 and other
developments: a brave new insolvency and restructuring world? (2020) CR&I, 13(5), pp.155-157.)
⦁ CIGA 2020
⦁ Ongoing issue: British Property Foundation-landlords dissatisfaction with Coronavirus Act 2020 (CVA 2020); Return of Crown Preference-Finance Act 2020, practitioner dissatisfaction, ‘rescue culture’ damaged; etc.
Questions:
⦁ How can we rationalize the drivers of insolvency (pre-pandemic) and the advent of the pandemic drivers of insolvency? What’s the effect on insolvency and policy?
⦁ Has the temporary stay on liquidation during pandemic given rise to problems?
⦁ Do wrongful trading suspension provisions make good sense for directors?
⦁ Is furloughing sensible in policy terms in the context of insolvency?
⦁ What package of reforms did CIGA 2020 introduce into the realm of insolvency and what power interests, if any, were in play during the passage of the CIGA Bill?
⦁ What do the following cases tell us about corporate rescue in the time of Covid and more generally? – Re Carluccio’s Ltd [2020] EWHC 886 (Ch); Re Debenhams Retail Ltd [2020] EWHC 921 (Ch); Re Virgin Active Holdings Ltd & Ors [2021] EWHC 814 (Ch)
⦁ Directors & insolvency (Finch & Milman, Corporate Insolvency Law, Ch.16)
⦁ High-profile cases: Olypia&York/Farepak/Woolworths etc.; Recent cases: BHS/Carillion/British Steel etc.
⦁ Phoenixism-IA86 s.216
⦁ Fraudulent & wrongful trading-IA86 s.213/214
⦁ Other insolvency offences-IA86 s.207
⦁ Directors’ disqualification-CDDA86 s.6
Questions:
⦁ Is the public protection agenda of directors’ disqualification regime achievable?
⦁ Critically evaluate this statement: ‘Limited liability is routinely abused and nothing in the Companies or Insolvency Acts works as a deterrent or is effective in augmenting the available estate. We may as well accept that there will always be an element of abuse. It is the size of that abuse that needs to be monitored.’
⦁ What do the directors’ disqualification statistics teach us about the deployment of the disqualification regime and its potential effectiveness?
⦁ Rationale underlying all the ‘directors in insolvency’ provisions (IA86 s.213, 214 & CDDA86 s.6) and cases?
⦁ What lessons can we take from Falk, J’s judgment in The Official Receiver v Atkinson & Ors [2021] EWHC 175 (Ch)?
⦁ Why is Re Produce Marketing Consortium Ltd (1989) 5 BCC 569, (1989) BCLC 520 an instructive case in the realm of directors and insolvency?
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