78
What they Said
Bahram Vakil
Founding Partners, AZB & Partners
Since its inception, almost a year ago, over 370 cases have
been admitted under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code,
2016 (“Code”). In the first week of August, the National
Company Law Tribunal bench at Hyderabad made history
by passing the first-ever Insolvency Resolution Order and
the first-ever Liquidation Order under the nascent Code. In
this short timeframe, the Courts too (including the Supreme
Court) have passed several very helpful judgments,
especially in respect to the key definition of a “dispute”
and the overriding status of the Code. Finally and most
recently, in the case of Jaypee Infratech, the Supreme Court
is attempting to strike a balance between protecting the
interests of the homebuyers and upholding the validity of
the Code. And this is just the beginning… picture abhi baki
hai!
The event was wonderful, high-profile speakers, high-
profile audience, so this was definitely an event to be
present at the very interesting start of the new insolvency
regime. Well, I think, IBC is about 280 days in practice
and it has to develop. I remember in Germany when we
had the new Bankruptcy Code, it took a few years to be
considered as a mature tool to restructure companies
in trouble. So, it will take some time, but we’re very
optimistic that this will be a true success for the Indian
recovery and restructuring business. I absolutely foresee
progress, but it will take some time for everybody
to get used to it. In the end, however, this will be an
overwhelming success for the whole atmosphere for
restructuring and insolvency. This is very important, and
I would like to congratulate our Indian friends to have
been able to achieve it.
Shailen Shah
Deal Advisory, Restructuring & Insolvency, BSRR & Co
N ovember 2017 | L egal E ra | www . legaleraonline . com
Dr. Steffen Koch
Partner, hww hermann wienberg wilhelm
Lenders’ selection of IP should be based on
the experience of the IP, his/her credibility
and integrity, and his/her ability to mobilize
resources. It shouldn’t necessarily be based
on the ‘lowest bidder wins’ approach. A sub-
optimal selection may lead to sub-optimal
results. IP professionals should regularly
communicate with creditors and update them
on the work done, key progress achieved
and efforts involved to avoid disputes later.
IP professionals should maintain the balance
between charging fair fees with risk associated
with the engagement.