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A recent decision in Canada illustrates the increased exposure of directors and officers to personal liability in Canada. In Kerr v Danier Leather Inc the Superior Court of Justice of Ontario imposed liability on the CEO and CFO of Danier for making misrepresentations in a prospectus.

The first board of directors of the Capital Markets Authority (CMA), and its first chairman, the recent deputy governor of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Agency, Jummaz Al Suhaimi, have been appointed by Royal Decree A/114, dated 1 July 2004.

Japan's revised bankruptcy law was enacted in May 2004 and is expected to come into effect in January 2005. This follows the introduction of the Civil Rehabilitation Law in April 2000 and the revised Corporate Reorganization Law in April 2003. The purpose of these laws is to rehabilitate debtors, but the aim of the new bankruptcy law is to provide modernized procedures for the efficient liquidation of debtors and the fair distribution of debtors' assets.

Good faith is the most essential part of a contract among parties to an agreement. During the financial crisis in Indonesia, creditors have been facing difficulties when trying to recoup their investment, especially from debtors who lack good faith. The standard operating procedure of those debtors involves hiding their assets beyond the creditors' reach by transferring them out to obscure related parties. This is particularly relevant for unsecured creditors that do not have specific assets encumbered as collateral for the underlying loans. Unsecured creditors need to find the debtors' assets before they are able to attach such assets to satisfy their claims. It then comes naturally for bad faith debtors to try to transfer their assets out and leave the companies empty should the creditors obtain a judgment to have their monies back.

The Hong Kong Landlord and Tenancy (Consolidation) Amendment Ordinance 2003 (the Ordinance) was passed on June 30 2004 and came into effect on July 9 2004. It aims to remove security-of-tenure provisions for residential tenancies and to remove the minimum notice period requirement in relation to non-residential tenancies.

Australian courts are increasingly likely to hold corporates accountable for letters of comfort they give to local subsidiaries. Abigail Gruzman and Geoff Sutherland explain why

The success of Australia's corporate law reforms depends on the regulators taking a tougher, but still realistic and understanding, stance to ensure listed entities meet their continuous disclosure obligations, says Alison Lansley

Is the reform-minded budget good for the economy or just for the new government's popularity, asks Sandeep Parekh

Detailed rules allowing China's commercial banks to issue subordinated debt will pave the way for them to improve their capital adequacy ratios, says Andrew Godwin

Bond covenants can deny developing-markets companies access to securitization as a financing option. Jim Patti looks at standard clauses and considers how they might change to make structured deals easier