Film number 4 (from eight). These short films relate to my writing for over twenty years of the 10 Volume Dutch series ‘Wessels Insolvency Law’. Again I speak with Gert-Jan Boon, Leiden University, about the following topics: New insights during the rewriting of the series ‘Wessels Insolvency Law’, International developments, the Toronto meeting in 1995, the importance of a… Read More »2023-film04 International Insolvency Law
In this third out of eight short films about the Dutch series ‘Wessels Insolvency Law’, I am again speaking with Gert-Jan Boon, Leiden University. We discuss: Towards less formalism, experiences as a partner at Ernst & Young (EY), the importance of a more pragmatic approach, law as a tool to work with, the new insights of: ‘rescue required’, legislation… Read More »2023-film03 Developments in Dutch Insolvency Law
Second of eight short films about the Dutch series ‘Wessels Insolvency Law’. In this second film, Bob Wessels speaks with Gert-Jan Boon about the following topics: New insights: from bankruptcy law to insolvency law, changes in property law and securities law, importance of courts of first instance, the important role of insolvency practitioners, district courts and their procedural rules, the… Read More »2023-film02 Genesis of Dutch insolvency law
On 6 April 2023, Steinhoff International Holdings NV (SIHNV) announced that the Amsterdam District Court had appointed both Frédéric Verhoeven, a partner at Houthoff, and Willem Meijer, founder of Mediation Kamer Amsterdam, as observers (“observator”) in connection with its draft restructuring plan. Steinhoff’s plan is covered by the Dutch Wet homologatie onderhands akkoord or Act on the confirmation of a… Read More »2023-05-doc1 Observing the WHOA observer
Opening independent territorial insolvency proceedings prior to any main insolvency proceedings is the second part of highlighting independent territorial insolvency proceedings under the EU Insolvency Regulation (recast) (EIR 2015). The first part was published in May 2022 and related to the rather exceptional case where territorial insolvency proceedings were opened prior to the opening of main insolvency proceedings (Article 3(4)… Read More »2023-03-doc1 Independent territorial insolvency proceedings
I wil discuss how Russia sanctions have permeated a Dutch insolvency and I will make a case for a pan-European approach towards the impact of public law measures on insolvency law. ATB case. The case at hand concerns Amsterdam Trade Bank NV (ATB), which operates out of the Netherlands and has 23,000 private account holders. The bank has Russian connections… Read More »2023-02-doc1 Russia sanctions impacting insolvencies
In 2023 the American Law Institute (ALI) will celebrate its 100th anniversary. Since decades, ALI is the leading independent organization in the US producing scholarly work to clarify, modernize, and otherwise improve the law. With its Restatements of the Law, Model Codes, and other soft law instruments, ALI is enormously influential in the US courts and its legal research and… Read More »2023-01-doc3 American Law Institute 1923 – 2023
The English Court of Appeal’s decision in East-West Logistics v Melars Group (East-West Logistics Llp v Melars Group Ltd [2022] EWCA Civ 1419 of 28 October 2022 draw my attention, especially by the concurring view of one of the judges, Lord Justice Lewison. Lord Justice Lewison is known to me from the famous Stanford International Bank case of 2009, which… Read More »2023-01-doc1 COMI and ascertainability by third parties
In the second week of December 2022, the European Commission has put forward measures to further develop the EU’s Capital Markets Union (CMU). These measures concern three areas (a) to make EU clearing services more attractive and resilient, supporting the EU’s open strategic autonomy and preserving financial stability (b) to harmonise certain corporate insolvency rules across the EU, making them more efficient and… Read More »2022-12-doc3 Harmonisation of Corporate Insolvency Law in the EU: some background
Prior to 2017, courts in EU Member States (including UK pre-Brexit) have been rather lax and inattentive to verify a debtor’s international jurisdiction, giving room for especially individuals to manipulate COMI. Consequently, such judgments led to overstretching the public policy exception to refuse recognition. Articles 4 and 5 of the EU Insolvency Regulation aim to resolve this with a careful… Read More »2022-12-doc1 – Int’l jurisdiction under the EIR, ready for improvement