Clifford Chance
Modifications to the Belgian liquidation procedure
10 May 2012
On 7 May 2012 the laws of 19 March and 22 April 2012 modifying and simplifying certain aspects of the procedure for liquidating Belgian companies were published.
In 2006, the Belgian legislator amended the rules on liquidation procedures in an attempt to prevent the most obvious forms of abuses. The Law of 2006 imposes stricter monitoring by and transparency requirements to the Commercial Court. Practice quickly showed that the Law of 2006 had left many gaps in the procedure and uncertainties on its interpretation.
The Laws therefore implement some clarifications and simplifications of the Law of 2006, most importantly with respect to (i) the conditions for a dissolution and liquidation in one day; and (ii) the confirmation of the appointment of a liquidator and the interim acts by the liquidator. Other modifications are mainly procedural.
The new provisions are applicable to all Belgian companies and will apply as of 17 May 2012, it is however not specified if they will only apply to newly dissolved companies or also to ongoing liquidation procedures.
