Ireland: Company Law Reform

In Ireland, the Company Law Consolidation and Reform Bill is currently being drafted. Meanwhile, and in order to implement European law provisions concerning company law, new Regulations have been introduced. Statutory Instrument 89/2008 came into force on 15 April 2008 and made the following changes (to quote directly from the relevant press release):

"Firstly, the provisions of the 1963 Act dealing with objections by creditors to Court Orders confirming a reduction by a company of its issued share capital are being amended to reflect the change in emphasis in the Directive in respect of public companies, shifting the burden of proof from the company to the creditors in establishing grounds for an objection to the Court Order. Secondly Part XI of the 1990 Act dealing with the purchase by a company of its own shares is also being amended. These amendments are essentially for clarification purposes and do not give rise any changes of substance to the basic rules currently applying to purchase of own shares".

For further information about company law reform in Ireland, click here.