The Tribune

By NATARIO McKENZIE Tribune Business Reporter nmckenzie@tribunemedia.net AMENDMENTS to the Bahamas' insolvency regime are expected to be implemmented in a month's time, Attorney General John Delaney said yesterday, adding that the amendments will allow for the establishment of a liquidation rules committee. Giving a general overview of the amendments at seminar examining key pieces of financial services legislation passed at-end 2011, Mr Delaney said: "There is a new section that will be coming in that will establish a liquidation rules committee. "That committee will be comprised of the Chief Justice or his nominee, the Attorney General or his nominee, the legal practitioners, members of the committee of insolvency practitioners as recommended by BICA, and a person knowledgeable about law, financial regulations or insolvency practice appointed by the Chief Justice. "Substantial rule-making power will be vested in this committee. We believe this is essential. We felt that the best way to deal with this is to have a committee composed of people who know, or who ought to know, what's happening in the industry and what changes ought to be happening." Mr Delaney went on to state: "The intent there is to reduce the need for parliamentary action, to constitute a group of knowledgeable persons to keep the regime current and to provide flexibility." Mr Delaney said the amendments werepart of an 18 month project he had directed the Law Reform Revision Commission to undertake. "It's a part of a major legislative initiative. It [the insolvency reforms] has been enacted but hasn't entered into force yet. It's targeted to come into force in about a month or so," the Attorney General said. "There are really two component parts to the new regime. You have the Companies Wind-up Amendment Act of 2011, and then you have the rules, which are presently in draft form." Mr Delaney said the move to completely replace Section 7 of the Companies Act, which deals with winding-ups, was driven by the need to modernise the regime.