The INSOL Europe Academic Forum, founded in 2004, is a constituent body of INSOL Europe, a Europe-wide association of practitioners in insolvency. The Academic Forum’s primary mission is to engage in the representation of members interested in insolvency law and research, to encourage and assist in the development of research initiatives in the insolvency field and to participate in the activities organised by INSOL Europe. The membership of the Academic Forum includes insolvency academics, insolvency practitioners with recognised academic credentials as well as those engaged in the research and study of insolvency.
The Academic Forum meets annually in conjunction with the main conference of INSOL Europe and also arranges half-yearly conferences around suitable themes of interest to the practice and academic communities. Previous meetings have taken place in Prague (2004), Amsterdam (2005), Monaco (2007), Leiden and Barcelona (2008), Brighton and Stockholm (2009), Leiden and Vienna (2010), Milan, Venice and Jersey (2011), Nottingham and Brussels (2012), Trier and Paris (2013), Leiden and Istanbul (2014), Trier, Nottingham and Berlin (2015), Berlin and Lisbon (2016), Trier and Warsaw (2017), Athens (2018), Trier and Copenhagen (2019) and Dublin (2022). A number of smaller events, including University seminars and colloquia, are also co-hosted by the Academic Forum with institutions across Europe. During the pandemic, events were held also online at regular intervals.
At Copenhagen, Professor Tomas Richter (Charles University, Prague, the Czech Republic) was elected Chair of the Academic Forum for a three-year term, taking over from Professor Michael Veder. Line Herman Langkjær (Aarhus University, Denmark) was appointed as Secretary to the Board and Gert-Jan Boon (Leiden University, the Netherlands, the Chair of the Young Academics’ Network in Insolvency Law) joined the Board in that capacity. Professor Jessica Schmidt (University of Bayreuth, Germany), Dr Jennifer Gant (University College Cork, Ireland, the Editor of the Conference Proceedings series), Professor Rolef de Weijs (Amsterdam University, the Netherlands) and Dr Luigi Lai (National Information Processing Institute, Poland) are also members of the Board.
With the sponsorship renewed by Edwin Coe LLP from 2018 as well as that previously provided by Edwin Coe LLP and Shakespeare Martineau, the Academic Forum has been able to offer young scholars travel grants to attend its conferences. The sponsorship has also permitted for an annual lecture to be given by a scholar of international repute. These have included Professor Jay Westbrook (University of Texas, the United States), Gabriel Moss QC (3/4 South Square, Gray’s Inn, the United Kingdom), The Hon Mr Justice Ian Kawaley (Supreme Court of Bermuda), Professor Karsten Schmidt (President of the Bucerius Law School, Germany), Professor Bob Wessels (Leiden Law School, the Netherlands), Professor Ian Fletcher QC (University College London, United Kingdom), Professor Rosalind Mason (Queensland University of Technology, Australia), Professor Axel Flessner (Humboldt University Berlin, Germany), His Honour Judge Ignacio Sancho (Spanish Supreme Court), Professor Bruce A. Markell (Northwestern University Chicago) and Professor Frank Verstijlen (Groningen Law School, the Netherlands). In Copenhagen, the annual lecture was renamed "The Gabriel Moss Memorial Lecture" in honour and memory of the late Gabriel Moss, QC. The first such lecture was given by Professor Ignacio Tirado (UNIDROIT), while the second took place in Dublin and was given by Professor Irene Lynch Fannon (UCC).
These lectures and many of the presentations at the Academic Forum conferences have been collected in the conference proceedings booklets that have been regularly published since the publications series arising from conferences was inaugurated in 2009 by reports from the 2008 Leiden and Barcelona events. The intention is that conference proceedings booklets will be published from all of the conferences listed above and will accompany other publications in the Technical Series produced by INSOL Europe and the Judicial Wing. Overall, the publications are intended to form a comprehensive report of the conferences and contain accounts of recent research in the insolvency field useful for academics, judges, policy-makers and practitioners alike.
The Academic Forum’s next meeting is scheduled to take place in conjunction with the INSOL Europe conference in Dubrovnik, Croatia on 5 and 6 October 2022, with future conferences likely to see Academic Forum members visit Amsterdam (2023) and Sorrento (2024). Details of academic conferences will be posted on this website as and when available. An on-line registration facility for academic conferences as well as further information about the work of the Academic Forum can also be obtained via the website as well as a dedicated Facebook page.
