PrimaCom – confirming the extraterritoriality of English schemes of arrangement *

United Kingdom - March 7 2012
Hildyard J’s recent sanctioning of the scheme of arrangement proposed by PrimaCom Holding GmbH (‘’PrimaCom’’), a German incorporated company whose creditors were domiciled outside of the UK, has reaffirmed the extra-territorial jurisdiction of the English courts in respect of schemes of arrangement and confirmed their status as a useful instrument for foreign companies looking to restructure.

Co-authors: Dr. Marco Wilhelm , Daniel Hart , Stuart Pickford, Devi Shah, Dr. Jan Kraayvanger.

The compliance officer’s function within a company – the Federal Supreme Court decides on compliance officers’ criminal liability regarding violation of their duties and challenges the compliance organizations within the companies *

Germany - December 22 2009
In a current decision (BGH 5 StR 394/08) the Federal Supreme Court (Bundesgerichtshof, BGH) has taken a stance regarding a compliance officer's responsibility within a company.

Co-authors: Dr. Christiane Freund, LLM, Dr. Christian Schefold, LLM, Ralf-Friedrich Fahrenbach, LL.M..