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
Sdu Commentaar Insolventierecht, 2025, wordt door uitgever SDU aangeprezen als een jaarlijks geactualiseerd boek in combinatie met online beschikbaarheid van haar teksten en online doorverwijzingen naar in house Sdu bronnen en relevante websites. Op deze wijze wordt de Faillissementswet en aanverwante regelingen, waaronder de Europese Insolventieverordening, becommentarieerd. Die aanverwante regelingen (niet de Insolventieverordening) zijn enkele bepalingen uit de Wetboeken voor… Read More »2025-05-doc2 Sdu Commentaar Insolventierecht 2025
In December 2024, the EU and Mercosur finalised negotiations for a groundbreaking EU-Mercosur partnership agreement. Mercosur stands for ‘El Mercado Común del Sur’ (Common Market of the Southern Cone or The Southern Common Market) and was established in 1991. Its members are Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The central goal of Mercosur is to create a common economic market. President… Read More »2025-05-doc1 Is the EU-Mercosur partnership agreement missing a link?
Can cryptocurrencies be taxed? My eye fell on a case of 25 April this year from the Netherlands Supreme Court (Tax Chambers) A taxpayer (X) believes that cryptocurrencies (in this case bitcoins and altcoins) are not ‘property rights’ (‘vermogensrechten’) and are therefore not to be taxed as income (in the meaning of Box 3 Dutch Income Tax). After the Tax… Read More »2025-04-doc2 Cryptocurrencies ‘property right?, and the Dutch Tax man
EU member states’ different and unharmonized insolvency and restructuring laws have long been regarded as one of the greatest obstacles to the free movement of capital in the EU. That is within the EU in general and to cross-border investments from third countries. On 7 December 2022, the European Commission published a proposal for a Directive harmonising certain aspects of… Read More »2025-04-doc1 The European pre-pack is slowly being unpacked