An academic ceremony, at least in the Netherlands, is the defence of a dissertation. Once done successfully the candidate will receive a Doctor of Laws degree. This is what happened to Gert-Jan Boon at Leiden University in early July. His topic of research was the debtor in possession (DIP), a comparative legal approach based on US, EU, and Dutch restructuring… Read More »2025-09-doc2 DIP – debtor-in-possession or defective IP?
The European Insolvency Regulation (EIR 2015) dictates that its overarching definition for “insolvency proceedings” are proceedings that are listed exhaustively in Annex A. To the national procedures contained in Annex A, the EIR 2015 should apply without any further examination by the courts of another member state as to whether the conditions set out in the regulation are met, while… Read More »2025-09-doc1 Lost in translation? Annex A of the European Insolvency Regulation
The book, discussed here, is titled ‘Jurisdiction in EU Cross-Border Insolvency Law’. It has been written by Antonio Leandro, a professor at the University of Bari Aldo Moro in Italy and one of my colleagues of the European Commission’s Group of Experts on Restructuring and Insolvency Law. First a quote: ‘“Jurisdiction” is one of those words which mean different things… Read More »2025-08-doc5 Jurisdiction in EU Cross-Border Insolvency Law
Since 1 July 2025 the Hague Judgments Convention 2019 applies to the UK and the EU. Any consequences for insolvency proceedings and preventive restructuring plans? The Hague Judgments Convention 2019 facilitates the recognition and enforcement of civil and commercial judgments, including consumer and individual employment contracts. Officially titled as The Hague Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgements… Read More »2025-08-doc4 Hague Judgments Convention 2019 and preventive restructuring frameworks
The phenomenon of a “city” has always fascinated me. For instance, the historical roots of urban development, the acquisition by a city of its own “city rights” by the incumbent ruler, many centuries ago (at least in the Netherlands). See my recent book, written (in English) with historian Maurits den Hollander, titled Palace of Commerce: Amsterdam’s City Hall in the… Read More »2025-08-doc3 Municipalities in Financial Distress
The UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency is close to thirty years old. After its slow start following its inception in 1997, the MLCBI (as it is now referred to) was considered by many countries, especially following its adoption by the big players, USA in 2005 and UK in 2006. In the last ten years alone, more than twenty countries… Read More »2025-08-doc2 Two UNCITRAL Cross-border insolvency instruments explained
It is less than twenty-five years ago that in American legal literature the insolvency systems of some Western European countries were compared to a criminal law system. Everywhere the clock struck: liquidation of the business’s assets, piece-meal, everything to the creditors, with the result that the company had disappeared. In the original European Insolvency Regulation, which came into force in… Read More »2025-08-doc1 Is the DIP here to stay?
Early June, in my regular column in Global Restructuring Review (GRR), I suggested seven changes that could make the EU Insolvency Regulation more equitable, efficient, and suited to the evolving needs of the global economy. Here’s the column. The original EU Insolvency Regulation of 2000 was replaced in 2015 by the Insolvency Regulation (recast) (EIR 2015). This EIR 2015 entered… Read More »2025-07-doc2 Seven suggestions to strengthen the EU Insolvency Regulation
In my last column in Global Restructuring Review (GRR) I submitted that the concept of the centre of main interests (COMI) remains ambiguous and is still vague. An example could be the following case. In August 2020, a German public inner-city locality of Berlin, Finanzamt Wilmersdorf, filed insolvency proceedings against a debtor, a natural person. He is the chairman of… Read More »2025-07-doc1 COMI queries continued
In my January column, I wondered what the European Commission’s agenda for restructuring and insolvency law would be for the next four years. In December 2024, the new Commission, headed by President Ursula von der Leyen, had just come into power; what are the new Commission’s insolvency plans? Last week, a tip of the veil was lifted. The new European… Read More »2025-06-doc1 EU’s working agenda for restructuring and insolvency revealed