Whilst not qualifying as statute, the Jersey Statements of Insolvency Practice (“JSIPs”) will act as a widely welcomed aid to Jersey insolvency practitioners’ use of the Jersey framework of insolvency and restructuring law. Ultimately, these statements will enable insolvency practitioners to maintain, and hopefully build upon, the high standards of practice operating in the Bailiwick.
To be read in conjunction with the Ethical Code as outlined in JSIP1, the JSIPs will apply wherever a practitioner is in the process of winding up a Jersey company, foundation, limited liability partnership or limited partnership. It is noted that a literal interpretation of the JSIPs should not be assumed when to do so would contradict the Ethical Code.
A summary of the Ethical Code as provided by JSIP1 is summarised below:
- Integrity: The insolvency practitioner should be straightforward and honest in all professional relationships.
- Objectivity: Do not allow bias, conflicts of interest or undue influence to affect your professional decision making.
- Professional competence and due care: Keep professional knowledge up to date and skill at the level required to ensure that clients receive professional services in accordance with the latest practice, legislation and techniques.
- Confidentiality: Maintain the principle of confidentiality of client information wherever possible. Unless there is a legal/professional duty/right to do so, do not disclose such information to third parties.
- Professional behaviour: In order to uphold the reputation of your profession, ensure that your actions both within and outside of the workplace are in compliance with the relevant laws and regulations.
The latest JSIPs are structured into a series of three separate documents:
- JSIP 1 outlines the objectives of the series, its status as an article of guidance rather than law, and the Ethical Code (as seen above).
- JSIP 2 provides the bulk of the framework to date for the conduct of restructuring procedures and assignments, including:
- Guidance in relation to Statements of Affairs;
- Notification and adjudication of claims;
- Structuring of the reports to creditors and shareholders;
- Dealing with unclaimed assets; and
- Use of websites by a practitioner.
- JSIP 3 provides guidance on how to approach fees and disbursements in formal restructuring work. This includes:
- Calculating fees;
- Claiming fees initially (pre-appointment), subsequently (during appointment) and finally (at the conclusion of appointment);
- Handling of disbursements; and
- Navigating a force majeure.
Regulatory Status
JSIPs provide best practice rather than setting out legal requirements. Where an insolvency practitioner is in any doubt about the application of any provision of a JSIP, the practitioner should obtain guidance from their recognised professional body or a Jersey Advocate.
Link to JSIPS
The JSIPs as published by ARIES are available at this link: https://www.aries-ci.org/JIPS
Our Team
Russell is the Managing Partner of the Isle of Man practice and Head of Advisory for KPMG in the Crown Dependencies. In 2017 Russell was appointed to the Isle of Man Court list of approved liquidators and has acted as court appointed deemed official receiver and liquidator for a number of high profile liquidations. He also acts as liquidator in voluntary liquidations, a large proportion of which have complex structures and held investment property companies. Russell has acted as Joint Receiver over various property and land located in Isle of Man.
Linda has been with KPMG for more than 15 years. During her time with KPMG she has been involved in a wide range of engagements across the funds, banking, insurance and fiduciary sectors in the Channel Islands. Linda is an experienced insolvency practitioner with considerable experience across a broad range of restructuring, forensic and risk disciplines, working for both corporates and lenders/creditors. In her role as a liquidator, Linda specialises in the voluntary liquidations of fund structures, including private equity and listed investment vehicles, across numerous assets classes. Linda has worked on a number of joint insolvency engagements with KPMG in London, including the administration/ liquidation of Guernsey and Jersey companies holding European real estate. She has also worked on the pre and post liquidation aspects of the wind-down of a number of Channel Island banks, including Northern Rock (Guernsey) Limited.
Catherine has worked for KPMG for over 20 years in Bermuda and UK and with KPMG in Isle of Man since 2017. She has 25 years restructuring experience working with formal and informal insolvency appointments, including receiverships, corporate advisory, liquidations and schemes of arrangement. Prior to joining KPMG, Catherine worked for a mid-tier firm performing investigation and independent business reviews for banks and managed various trading receiverships. Catherine has managed numerous complex cross border insolvency and restructuring projects in various jurisdictions including the Caribbean, Hong Kong, Switzerland, UK and US. Catherine also has significant experience in solvent liquidation and corporate simplification projects.
John has worked within KPMG restructuring for over 8 years, training with KPMG Ireland before transferring to KPMG Jersey. Within the Channel Islands, John has extensive experience in providing solvent liquidation solutions to companies across all sectors as well as working on a number of cross-jurisdictional contentious insolvency engagements. John sits on the Legal and Regulatory Committee of the Jersey branch of the Association of Restructuring and Insolvency Experts.
