June 2019
Second chance for entrepreneurs: new rules on corporate insolvency
On 6 June 2019, the European Council approved the Directive on preventive restructuring systems, debt cancellation and professional prohibitions, as well as measures to improve the efficiency of restructuring, insolvency and debt cancellation proceedings. The general objective of the Directive is to contribute to the proper functioning of the internal market and to remove obstacles to the exercise of fundamental freedoms, such as the free movement of capital and the freedom of establishment, resulting from differences between Member States in restructuring and insolvency regimes. In addition, the objective is also to promote a "rescue culture" within the European Union based on the principle of [...]
Creation of an electronic database accessible to the public on judgments and decisions
The Law amending the Code of Criminal Investigation and the Judicial Code with regard to the publication of judgments and rulings was published on 16 May 2019. The main innovation: the creation of an electronic database of judgments and court decisions accessible to the public. Namely that the data allowing the identification of the parties involved in the case will of course be scrupulously omitted. However, the Law of 5 May 2019 only enters into force on a date to be determined by the King and no later than 1 September 2020. The modalities of this database will also have to be defined by [...]
Entry into force of the new Code of Companies and Associations
On 30 April 2019, the Royal Decree of 29 April 2019 implementing the Companies and Associations Code was published in the Belgian Official Gazette. The new code, composed of 9 books and written in the spirit of simplifying the corporate landscape, came into force on 1 May 2019 and applies immediately to new legal entities from that date. For existing legal entities, a transition period has been set up. Except in the case where legal entities have decided to comply with the Code before (opt-in), the Companies and Associations Code will apply from 1 January 2020 as regards mandatory provisions. For the rest, legal [...]