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2025-01-doc1 Towards a new EU-wide legal statute for an Innovative European Company

Former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi published in September 2024 his longawaited report, “The future of European competitiveness”.  It sets out its already widely discussed competitiveness strategy for Europe. Draghi, who  became known as the saviour of the Euro during the Euro crisis, has proposed the creation of an Innovative European Company, the status of which would provide companies… Read More »2025-01-doc1 Towards a new EU-wide legal statute for an Innovative European Company

2024-12-doc5 Dutch court rules on foreign directors’ liability in landmark Petrobras case

At the end of October, a Dutch court dismissed a claim by a group of affected shareholders of Brazilian oil company Petrobras, ending a case that has been spanning for some 10 years. The shareholders will not receive compensation for price drops (“koersverlies”) caused by a bribery scandal in the multi-year, mass claims case. In this case, investors claimed damages… Read More »2024-12-doc5 Dutch court rules on foreign directors’ liability in landmark Petrobras case

2024-12-doc4 The Anatomy of Corporate Insolvency Law

Bork and Mangano. Without a doubt, the editors of this book, Prof. Reinhard Bork (Germany) and Prof. Renato Mangano (Italy), are among the most productive European scholars in the broad field of insolvency law. I’ve reviewed several of their writings (consult my blog: www.bobwessels.nl). These are among the most instructive and well-detailed works. This time, together with a group of… Read More »2024-12-doc4 The Anatomy of Corporate Insolvency Law

2024-12-doc2 Cross-border insolvency through Lithuanian eyes

Recently I received a book (232 pages), titled “Cross-Border Insolvency Proceedings”, with the subtitle “Policies and Directives in the European Union”. The publication presents in its core an analysis of the effectiveness of European Union cross-border insolvency proceedings. Evidently, its accent is on the development of cross-border insolvency proceedings established in the Insolvency Regulation ((EU) 2015/848), which came into effect… Read More »2024-12-doc2 Cross-border insolvency through Lithuanian eyes

2024-12-doc1 Re-examining Insolvency Law and Theory

‘In short, theory matters’, the three editors submit on the first page of their introduction to this book. They underline the important role that legal theory plays in the development of insolvency law. All 15 contributions (next to an introduction and a welcome editors’ conclusion) explore how law and theory are able to respond to issues of financial distress in… Read More »2024-12-doc1 Re-examining Insolvency Law and Theory

2024-10-doc1 Spanish banks beware of insolvent Dutch nationals with holiday homes

Spanish banks beware of insolvent Dutch nationals with holiday homes In a GRR column in May last year, I reported on a Dutch bankruptcy case in which a Spanish bank with a secured claim learned an expensive lesson when dealing with the bankrupt Dutch owners of a Spanish holiday home. The bank, Alicante-based Caixa Rural Altea Cooperativa de Credit Valencia… Read More »2024-10-doc1 Spanish banks beware of insolvent Dutch nationals with holiday homes

2024-08-doc1 Spanish employees versus German Air Berlin

The possible clash in powers between insolvency practitioners appointed in main and secondary insolvency proceedings were at stake in a decision of the Court of Justice of the EU in April this year. The case. In 2017, main insolvency proceedings were opened in Germany against Air Berlin Luftverkehrs KG. Where Air Berlin had an establishment in Spain, in 2020 secondary… Read More »2024-08-doc1 Spanish employees versus German Air Berlin

2024-07-doc5 Cuniberti and Leandro (eds.), A new Commentary on the European Insolvency Regulation

EIR 2000. Nearly 25 years ago, it was a breakthrough in the rather terra incognita field of international insolvency law in Europe. Indeed, there was a draft treaty that had been worked on for more than 30 years – with ups and downs. For political reasons that draft faded into the background, however, large parts of its contents could be… Read More »2024-07-doc5 Cuniberti and Leandro (eds.), A new Commentary on the European Insolvency Regulation

2024-07-doc4 US approved New Protocol in Mercon. Where is it? Part III

In April and May of this year I published two blogs on the Mercon Protocol, see ‘The US-approved Mercon protocol and the Dutch courts / Part One’ at https://bobwessels.nl/blog/2024-04-doc3-the-us-approved -mercon-protocol-and-the-dutch-courts-part-one/, followed by a second blog, see https://bobwessels.nl/blog/2024-05-doc3-the-us-approved-mercon-new -protocol-and-the-dutch-court-part-two/. The full case can be taken form these two blogs. At the moment of writing the last, Part II blog, I had… Read More »2024-07-doc4 US approved New Protocol in Mercon. Where is it? Part III

2024-05-doc3 The US-approved Mercon ‘New Protocol and the Dutch Court / Part Two

Two weeks ago I published ‘The US-approved Mercon protocol and the Dutch courts / Part One’, see https://bobwessels.nl/blog/2024-04-doc3-the-us-approved-mercon-protocol-and-the-dutch-courts-part-one/. It was the text of my column of some 4 or 5 weeks earlier in Global Restructuring Review (GRR), the world’s only daily news and analysis service on cross-border restructuring and insolvency law. See https://globalrestructuringreview.com/. As a refresher, Mercon Coffee Corporation and… Read More »2024-05-doc3 The US-approved Mercon ‘New Protocol and the Dutch Court / Part Two