12/10/2021

Accidental repeal of coronavirus restrictions on winding up petitions

The extraordinary circumstances of the pandemic gave birth to a raft of emergency legislation – primary and secondary. One criticism is that the speed with which such measures have been implemented has prevented their effective scrutiny. Generally, the criticism has been that this has led to a democratic deficit. However, the speed with which the latest amendment to the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 was enacted has inadvertently removed some of the protections intended for companies experiencing difficulties during the pandemic. SI 2021/1091 has repealed the old Schedule 10 to CIGA, which explained that winding up petitions presented in certain circumstances were improper but not automatically defective. It may be that petitions presented before 1 October 2021, but not yet heard, may strictly now be granted notwithstanding that they were previously presented contrary to the (now repealed) Schedule 10 restrictions.

In the latest edition of Corporate Rescue and Insolvency, Matthew McGhee looks at the latest amendment to CIGA 2020 and its effect on winding up petitions presented before 1 October 2021.

The article was first published in Corporate Rescue and Insolvency, Vol 14.5, October 2021.

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