We are delighted to announce that registration for our Annual Congress in Copenhagen, Denmark, from 26-29 September 2019 is now open.  [Read more]

INSOL International is in the process of launching its new Foundation Certificate in International Insolvency Law, which commences on 1 September 2019. Enrolments on the course open on 1 March 2019.     

This course has been designed as an entry level course for persons who have no or very little experience in the field of international insolvency law, especially for persons in emerging markets and developing economies who may not have access to a similar course in their own jurisdictions. The Foundation Certificate is not to be confused with the Global Insolvency Practice Course (GIPC), which remains INSOL International’s flagship educational offering for persons with more than five years’ experience.     

While the course fee for both designated and non-designated countries has already been set very low for a course of this nature, please note that INSOL International members qualify for a 25% discount on the course fee.
INSOL Europe members are also therefore eligible for this discount.

Full details regarding the course, the entry criteria and the course fee can be found in the course brochure.

If you have any questions regarding the content or presentation of the course, please do not hesitate to contact the Course Leader, David Burdette at david@insol.ision.co.uk.

The Academic Forum of INSOL Europe will be hosting its annual conference in Copenhagen on 25 and 26 September 2019. Expressions of interest are invited for the delivery of papers within the overall conference theme, which will be: “Harmonisation of insolvency and restructuring laws in the EU”. [Read more]

On 12 November 2018, Giese & Partner organized the first INSOL Europe Lunch in Prague. Ernst Giese reports on this event which took place in the historic centre of Prague in the vicinity of the famous Castle. 

Several insolvency law experts, liquidators and qualified attorneys from leading Czech law firms accepted the invitation to discuss the current status of the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on preventive restructuring frameworks, second chance and measures to increase the efficiency of restructuring, insolvency and discharge procedures and amending Directive 2012/30/ EU.

The president of INSOL Europe, Mr. Alastair Beveridge gave the welcome address and introduced the association and its activities.

The keynote speaker was Mr. Nicolaes W. A. Tollenaar from RESOR law firm, Amsterdam. Mr. Tollenaar presented a lively analysis on the Proposal in respect to “debtor-friendly” and “creditor-friendly” systems. His analysis was clearly that the first ones hinder whereas the latter ones facilitate business rescues.

Mr. Tollenaar offered many useful insights and an outline of what insolvency proceedings should look like ideally, while taking into account economic criteria. He criticised the EC initiative for failing to provide not only the debtor, but also creditors, the right to propose a restructuring plan. Exclusivity in favour of the debtor gives controlling shareholders the ability to offer creditors only marginally more than they might receive in a liquidation. If creditors do not have the right to put forward their own plan and develop an alternative, in practical terms they have no other option than to accept the plan put forward through the debtor by the controlling shareholder. This leads to a transfer of wealth from creditors to shareholders.

All attendees then shared their opinions, suggestions for consideration and exchanged their professional experience across borders. Tomáš Richter from Clifford Chance (Czech Republic) brought into discussion his practical knowledge, pointing out the fact that there is good and modern legislation focusing on insolvency in the Czech Republic, but the judicial application is very inconsistent in quality.

Finally, the attendees suggested that regular meetings of the insolvency community in Prague will help to promote INSOL Europe in the Czech Republic.

The UK-European cross-border insolvency after Brexit: The framework for the post-Brexit relationship between the UK and the EU is not yet certain. However, in the field of cross-border insolvency INSOL Europe offers a preferred arrangement and an alternative. Preferably, the UK will remain subject to the European Insolvency Regulation, whether on the back of a bilateral agreement between the UK and the EU27 or otherwise. The alternative may be for the EU to adopt the UNCITRAL Model Law to add to the current cross-border insolvency regime.

The detail of INSOL Europe’s view is set out in a paper, Bankruptcy after Brexit. [Read more]