Radu Lotrean
President of
INSOL Europe

Following INSOL Europe's EECC conference in Riga, Latvia, the chairs of the Young Members Group wanted to give all of you a short update on activities and news of the group at and around this event.
 
The conference started on Thursday evening with a drinks reception and dinner at the roof-top restaurant of the Gutenberg Hotel, which is located in the heart of Riga’s old town. Delegates, amongst them a large number of YMG members, were greeted by sunny and clear weather and enjoyed a great evening, which ended at a Cuban cocktail bar around the corner :)

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The conference itself, centered around Balance of Interests: Restructuring, Insolvency and Second Chance, started Friday morning and was attended by over 100 delegates from across Europe. A wide range of photographs can be found in INSOL Europe’s Event Gallery. YMG members were present on panels. We believe that participation of young professionals as speakers / panelists has to be promoted and has to be improved. We therefore highly encourage you to let us know if you would like to present a topic at some future INSOL Europe event and will do everything to assist YMG members in that regard and support them (a call for contribution has been launched for the Congress in Copenhagen – September 2019). Last but not least, the traditional YMG drinks reception, kindly sponsored by Schiebe & Collegen, took place on Friday evening at the Radisson Blu’s Skyline Bar, which again was a great opportunity to network and exchange with young insolvency professionals from all over Europe.
 
Particular mention is to be made with regard to AIJA (International Association of Young Lawyers. Not only did three AIJA representatives take part in the conference but also, alongside the conference, a meeting between representatives of AIJA’s insolvency group and YMG co-chairs took place to discuss potential cooperation and future joint projects - see photo showing from left to right standing, Héctor Sbert, Marine Simonnot and Kristīne Zvejniece from AIJA with George-Louis Harang; Sabina Schellenberg and Anne Bach sitting.

As a result of this meeting, we are excited to announce that AIJA’s insolvency group and INSOL Europe will host a joint event in June 2019 on the beautiful island of Mallorca that will focus on young insolvency professionals, not only as participants but especially as speakers / panelists (yes, indeed! Let us know if you are interested). We will hopefully be able to update you on details after INSOL Europe’s Annual Conference in Athens.

If you have any questions or comments on the above please do not hesitate to contact one of the YMG’s co-chairs (Sabina Schellenberg, Georges-Louis Harang, Anne Bach) who will be more than happy to provide you with answers / our thoughts.

Demand is very high for this year's Congress with over 340 delegates already registered. Register your place here.

There are now less than 25 guest rooms left at the Congress venue so reserve your room today at the special delegate rate while you still can!

This year the Congress will be held at the Hilton Athens Hotel where we have arranged a special rate for delegates. Hilton Athens is in the centre of Athens, just a short walk from the upmarket district of Kolonaki with steps to Metro station, linking directly to the airport and beyond. There are impressive views of the Acropolis and city from many rooms and the rooftop Galaxy Bar and a Spa with fitness centre, salon, heated indoor pool and a large outdoor pool. Click here to reserve your room at the special rate.

We also have a number of rooms put aside at the Best Western Ilisia Hotel, just 2 minutes from the Hilton, at a special rate for delegates. These may be reserved by contacting ilisia@ath.forthnet.gr and quoting “INSOL Europe Congress 2018”.

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We look forward to seeing you in Athens for our 37th Annual Congress!

This month's INSIDE Story is about an Azeri (Azerbaijan) law restructuring proceeding and restructuring plan (which under Azeri law binds all creditors), and the position in relation thereto of two creditors under instruments governed by English law. The Azeri proceedings were recognised in England and Wales under the UNCITRAL Model Law, and such recognition carried with it a moratorium. 

The dispute before the English court was whether the moratorium should be lifted in favour of the two creditors in light of the rule in Antony Gibbs & Sons v La Société Industrielle et Commerciale des Métaux (1890) LR 25 QBD 399 or instead continued on a (near) permanent basis to give effect to the Azeri law restructuring plan.

On 18 January 2018, the English Court decided not to impose a stay on any actions that the two aforesaid creditors might take. It follows that the English Court rejected a continuation of the moratorium. The practical effect of the English Court’s decision is to effectively deprive the Azeri law restructuring plan of any effect in England and Wales as regards the two creditors whose debts arose under English law instruments.

Stefan Ramel reports on the case. Read the full Inside Story and other articles here.

If you would like the opportunity to have your Inside Story published in a future edition, please email Communicatons Manager, Paul Newson for details.

The INSOL Helsinki Joint One Day Seminar 2018 which was jointly organised by INSOL International, INSOL Europe and the Finnish Insolvency Law Association (FILA) was the occasion for the audience to be informed on the main features of the EU Directive proposal on restructuring, insolvency and second chance (‘the Directive proposal’) and to discuss with the panellists the rationale of the tools contained into the Directive proposal and the risk that it could be (too) easily used at the expense of creditors.

A full report by Myriam Mailly can be read here.

The One Day Seminar was also the occasion to share two success stories from Finland (national operational business restructuring) and from France (international financial restructuring) as well as the latest developments on group insolvencies under the application of the EIR Recast (in particular the German/Austrian ‘NIKI cases’) and the current work undertaken by the UNCITRAL Working Group V and the establishment of a so-called ‘planning proceeding’.

The seminar ended with a focus on two important issues in the Nordic region, namely environmental liabilities in bankruptcy proceedings and debt-equity swaps.

Over 60 senior delegates from nearly 20 jurisdictions met in the heart of the City on 7 June, in sight of the Tower of London, to explore the theme “retreat or progress in cross-border restructuring”, reports Chris Laughton,Treasurer, INSOL Europe.

Glen Flannery and Nico Tollenaar, who have for many years chaired this most successful of co-labelled cross-border restructuring events, brought together an impressive team of speakers from around the world.

UK, other European, offshore and North and South American perspectives were delivered by lawyers and insolvency practitioners, as well as by experts from the banking, legislative and journalistic communities.

A strength of the conference was its familiar format, beginning with Richard Fisher and Henry Phillips of South Square discussing the year’s common law cross-border cases. Richard considered the wane of universalism in the context of the rule in Gibbs (a nineteenth century English Court of Appeal case, which decided that a debt governed by English law cannot be discharged or compromised by a foreign insolvency proceeding). 

Maintaining tradition, John Willcock, Editor of Global Turnaround, interviewed a panel on market developments. After reminding delegates that Brexit is a massive uncertainty generator he invited John O’Driscoll of Walkers to speak of the attractiveness of a Cayman provisional liquidation as a restructuring tool.

Piya Mukherjee of Horten spoke as INSOL Europe’s Vice President about the association, encouraging those delegates who were not already members to join us.

A full report has been published in the Summer edition of Eurofenix.

The 7th European Insolvency & Restructuring Congress which was organised by the Insolvency Law and Restructuring section of the German Bar Association (DAV) through its European Working Group in cooperation with INSOL Europe and the ReTurn Association was the occasion for the audience to be informed on the agenda relating to the adoption process of the EU Directive proposal on restructuring, insolvency and second chance (‘the Directive proposal’). 

A full report by Myriam Mailly can be read here.

While a partial general approach has already been reached, it was important for the Keynote speaker to remind the necessity to reach an agreement between the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament before the European Parliament elections planned in May 2019.

A lecture on the need for a doctrinal foundation for the Preventive Framework was then followed by a panel discussion on the Directive proposal where it was emphasised the need to build a common culture of rehabilitation in Europe. The first afternoon workshop focused on challenges of digitisation and legal tech in restructuring and insolvency while the second examined the available options for secured creditors in or out of court in several jurisdictions (Austria, France, Germany, Greece and the Netherlands). 

The second day of the Congress began with an update on the CJEU and other landmark decisions in European insolvency law. It was followed by a critical overview of the Directive proposal on preventive restructuring frameworks from an Austrian perspective. Before the closure of the Congress, the discussions focused on the cooperation and group insolvencies beyond the scope of the EIR after Brexit and how to create an attractive insolvency hub based on their experience in Germany, Singapore and the US.