2025 Academic Conference, Vienna, Austria

The Academic Forum of INSOL Europe will be hosting its 21st annual conference in Vienna, Austria, on Wednesday 8 – Thursday 9 October 2025, immediately prior to INSOL Europe's main Annual Congress taking place in Vienna from 9 - 12 October 2025.

Vienna is an ideal location for hosting the 21st annual INSOL Europe Academic Forum Conference, particularly under the theme “When West Meets East: Bridging Europe’s Insolvency Regimes.” Vienna sits at the historical and symbolic crossroads of Western and Eastern Europe, making it a fitting venue for a dialogue. The city’s central location allows for easy access from across the continent and makes it especially convenient for participants coming from both EU and non-EU jurisdictions, including Central and Eastern Europe.

Culturally, Vienna has long been a hub of intellectual exchange and legal scholarship. Its rich tradition of public discourse, academic excellence, and legal innovation provides a stimulating environment for high-level debate. The city’s legacy as the seat of the Habsburg Empire, which governed over a diverse array of legal systems and languages, mirrors the pluralistic legal landscape of Europe today—making Vienna not just a logistical choice, but a thematically resonant one.

Moreover, Vienna is home to a significant number of international organisations, including the United Nations (with its UNCITRAL secretariat). The proximity to UNCITRAL’s headquarters offers a unique opportunity to reflect on and engage with the global normative frameworks that shape insolvency practice, especially in cross-border contexts. As such, Vienna offers not just a backdrop, but a substantive anchor for the conference's comparative and international outlook.

Full details of the Technical Programme can be found below.

We look forward to seeing you in Vienna!

Academic Forum Chair: Professor Rodrigo Rodriguez
Tenured Professor for Procedural and Insolvency Law, University of Lucerne (Switzerland)

Deputy Chair: Jennifer L. L. Gant
Senior Lecturer, University of Derby, School of Law

Continuing Professional Education 
A number of CPE points and academic hours of professional education will be awarded for attendance at the conference by the local professional associations. Please contact Harriet Taylor after the conference for a certificate of attendance, which you can forward to the relevant organisation as evidence.  

If you have any queries or would like further information, please contact Harriet Taylor

Refunds will not be given for any cancellation received after Friday 18 July although it will be permissible for registrations to be transferred within organisations.

This year the Academic Conference will be held at Hilton Vienna Park, Am Stadtpark 1, 1030, Wien, Austria. We have a limited number of bedrooms reserved at the corporate rate of €309 per night, please click here to reserve a bedroom. 

We also have a limited number of bedrooms reserved at the corporate rate of €199 per night at The Hoxton Vienna, a 10 minute walk away from the Congress Hotel. Please click here to reserve a bedroom. 

Moments from Vienna's vibrant city centre, both hotels are located next to the beautiful Stadtpark, just 16 minutes from the airport by train. You can find Hilton's Corporate Responsibility Strategy here. Furthermore, the INSOL Europe Caring for the Environment statement can be found here. 

Make the most of your visit to Vienna and book a local tour, we recommend using GetYourGuide

The Technical Programme is available to download here.

At the INSOL Europe Academic Forum Conference 2025 in Vienna, participants will explore key developments in insolvency law through thematically grouped panels. The first panel will address early-stage challenges in initiating insolvency and restructuring proceedings. Jaka Cepec and Lana Katarina Gotvan will reflect on legal incentives for timely filings, while Tereza Vodičková will examine director liability. Emilie Ghio and Donald Thompson will argue for improved legal literacy among directors, and Antonia Mottironi and Rodrigo Rodriguez will delve into definitional challenges in cross-border contexts, especially in Switzerland.

The second panel will focus on how financial resources are managed and distributed in insolvency. Diogo Pessoa Marques Cardoso will explore shareholder loans and the conflict between subordination and fresh financing. Niels Pannevis and Dirck Bouwhuis will reassess the principle of pari passu from an interdisciplinary perspective, while Matthew Chippin will raise questions around intent and certainty in avoidance actions.

In the technology and AI panel, chaired by Line Langkjaer, emerging innovations in insolvency law will take centre stage. Kayode Akintola will introduce the role of AI in corporate insolvency, and Animesh Khandelwal will analyze the potential of the EU AI Act in harmonizing insolvency regimes. Charles Mak will examine blockchain’s impact on transparency and fairness, and Eugenio Vaccari will present his pioneering Chat Bot project. Given his leadership in this space, Vaccari is also suggested as co-chair of this session.

Two breakout sessions under the banner “Insolvency Restructuring Frameworks that Work for All” will address stakeholder balance and community-oriented reforms. In Panel A, chaired by Emilie Ghio, Giulia Ballerini will assess protected interests in EU insolvency law, Phil Beetz and David Ehmke will debate the proper role of stakeholders, and Nguyen Hai Yeh will explore the integration of ESG concerns into restructuring. Panel B, chaired by Jessica Schmidt, will feature Sofia Santinello on the use of common law trusts in restructuring, Gauthier Vandenbossche on discharge periods in personal insolvency, and Rebecca Parry with Hakan Sahin on nationalisation as a response to failing public service providers.

A further panel on arbitration and insolvency, chaired by Gert-Jan Boon, will examine the intersections between these regimes. Alexander Klauser will address the mutual impact of Austrian insolvency and arbitration proceedings, while Stephen Ware will assess the enforceability of arbitration agreements in bankruptcy cases.

The conference will also feature key policy discussions: The Gabriel Moss Memorial Lecture delivered by Anna Joubin-Bret will honour the legacy of a pioneer in cross-border insolvency law. In a special lecture, Bob Wessels will present on the European Commission’s evolving role in shaping insolvency and restructuring law. In the Edwin Coe Open Forum with the Judicial Wing, chaired by Rodrigo Rodriguez, Amanda Cohen, Jennifer Gant, Oleksiy Kononov and Irene Lynch Fannon will contribute with their current research perspectives to a discussion around judicial challenges in adjudicating insolvency and restructuring cases

Distance from Vienna International Airport: 18km

Enjoy a comfortable arrival and departure to and from Vienna Airport with City Airport Train. With rides every 30 minutes, this is the easiest and fastest choice. The train costs €14.90 each way and takes 16 minutes non-stop between the airport and the hotel. Click here to book your train. 

Alternatively, there is a dedicated airport taxi rank immediately outside the arrivals hall, estimated cost of €60.00 each way. 

Sustainable Travel
If you are flying to Austria, we have published some information about how to carbon-offset your flights on our website here.

Travel & Health Insurance 
It is the attendee's responsibility to be adequately insured in case of claims pertaining to travel/accidents for the duration of their visit.  

The Academic Forum Conference Technical Committee consists of:

• Chair: Professor Rodrigo Rodriguez, Tenured Professor for Procedural and Insolvency Law, University of Lucerne (Switzerland)
• Deputy Chair: Jennifer L. L. Gant, Senior Lecturer, University of Derby, School of Law
• Committee Members: 
  Professor Dr. Jessica Schmidt, LL.M., University of Bayreuth, Germany
  Dr Emilie Ghio, University of Edinburgh, Scotland
  Dr Giulia Ballerini, YANIL Chair, University of Padua, Italy
  Dr Line Herman Langkjaer, University of Aarhus, Denmark
  Gert-Jan Boon, University of Leiden, The Netherlands  
• INSOL Europe Liaison Team: Paul Omar & Myriam Mailly