An insolvency court answering an international call for assistance has the full range of remedies available to it. It may exercise ‘its own general jurisdiction and powers’ as well as the insolvency laws of England and the corresponding laws of the requesting state. The court identified three categories of assistance an English court might make available to a foreign court requesting assistance in insolvency proceedings: a) its own general and inherent powers; b) English insolvency law, and c) so much of the relevant foreign law as was applicable in b). It remained the decision of the English court as to whether relief was to be granted.
Judges:
Morritt LJ, Roch LJ, Thorpe LJ
Citations:
Times 06-Mar-1997, [1997] EWCA Civ 857, [1997] 1 BCLC 497
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Approved – Re Dallhold Estates (UK) Pty Ltd ChD 1992
The court discussed the the receipt and acceptance of a letter of request: ‘The scheme of subsection (5) appears to me to be this. The first step is to identify the matters specified in the request. Secondly, the domestic court should ask itself . .
Cited by:
Cited – Fourie v Le Roux and Others ChD 30-Sep-2004
Interim asset freezing injunctions had been obtained on the application of a liquidator in South Africa. The defendant applied for their discharge.
Held: They should be discharged. No foreign proceedings had been specified for which they were . .
Cited – Al Sabah and Al Sabah v Grupo Torras SA Culmer as trustee of the property of Sheikh Fahad Mohammed Al Sabah, bankrupt PC 11-Jan-2005
PC (Cayman Islands) The claimant complained of an order of the Court of Appeal of the Cayman Islands, requiring him to comply with a letter of request from the Grand Court of the Bahamas.
Held: In earlier . .
Cited – John Louis Carter Fourie v Allan Le Roux and others CA 7-Mar-2005
The defendant’s company in South Africa had become insolvent and the claimant had recovered judgment for arrears of rent. They obtained a freezing order against the defendant. The defendant appealed saying the court did not have jurisdiction, and . .
Cited – McGrath and Honey v McMahon and Others, Re HIH Casualty and General Insurance Ltd and others CA 9-Jun-2006
The insurance company was to be wound up. It operated internationally but was registered in Australia. The Australian liquidator now sought an order for the transfer of assets held here to Australia.
Held: It was inevitable that cross border . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Insolvency
Updated: 05 November 2022; Ref: scu.141253