English

In January, the District Court of Rotterdam ruled on a request from X (from Manchester) and Y (from London), both acting as administrators appointed by the English High Court in an administration, an English insolvency proceeding concerning company Z. The administrators were appointed to wind up Z, a company incorporated under the laws of England and Wales that, in addition to its… Read More »2026-09-doc2 Dutch court tests the limits of post-Brexit insolvency cooperation

Wessels Restructuring Plans (forthcoming) is a European book investigating ‘Preventive restructuring frameworks’, also termed: restructuring plans, which are the subject of Title III, Article 4 – 19, of the Preventive Restructuring Directive 2019/1023. It analyses what a restructuring plan is, including its nature and its legal consequences, and the rules to apply when such a restructuring plan is implemented in… Read More »2026-09-doc1 Restructuring plans, my forthcoming book

My focus today is on a small puzzle: interim proceedings. What are they? Do they have cross-border effect? And can we learn a bit more about them in the future? The EU Insolvency Regulation (EIR 2015) provides in Article 1(1) that the regulation shall apply to “public collective proceedings”, to which the provision adds: “including interim proceedings”. Recital 15 shows the way by… Read More »2026-08-doc2 Do you know what an “interim proceeding” is?

Directive (EU) 2026/799 on harmonising certain aspects of insolvency law (CAD 2026/799) lays down common rules on creditors’ committees. For an overview of the other ‘aspects’ the directive covers, see https://bobwessels.nl/blog/2026-06-doc2-certain-aspects-directive-2026-799-a-patchwork-without-cross-border-rules/. Globally, it is commonly held that the interests of relevant creditors may be best served by coordinating their response to a debtor in financial difficulty through the establishment of… Read More »2026-07-doc1 The mystery around creditors committees

This blog is published as a companion piece to the eight-part video Lecture Series on the European Insolvency Regulation (EIR 2015) by Prof. Em. Bob Wessels and Defne Taşman. Since the videos were recorded in late February 2026, important legislative developments have taken place in European insolvency law, including the adoption of Directive (EU) 2026/799 harmonising certain aspects of insolvency… Read More »2026-06-doc4 The New EU Insolvency Harmonisation Directive: A Bird’s-Eye View

Early April the EU published its new Directive (EU) 2026/799 on harmonising certain aspects of insolvency law. Article 1(1) of the so-called Certain Aspects Directive (CAD 2026/799) leaves no doubt that the directive lays down “common rules” on: (a) avoidance actions; (b) tracing of assets belonging to insolvency estates; (c) pre-pack proceedings; (d) directors’ duties to submit a request for… Read More »2026-06-doc2 Certain Aspects Directive 2026/799 a patchwork without cross-border rules

Mid March 2026, the European Commission presented the long-awaited proposal for a 28th EU regime by way of a new corporate form. The regime has been baptised with a name: EU Inc. This new European legal form can be established within 48 hours, entirely digitally, and for a maximum of €100. Nobody can deny the Commission’s ambition in taking a… Read More »2026-04-doc2 The proposed “EU Inc” and its insolvency context

At an appeal hearing in November 2025, the Amsterdam Court of Appeal was asked to decide on a conflict between Dutch law firm NautaDutilh and Croatian shipbuilding company Brođograde Industrija Split Dioničko Društvo (Brodosplit). Claims are pending between the parties. In ordinary civil proceedings in the Netherlands, NautaDutilh filed a claim for performance for payment against Brodosplit, based on an… Read More »2026-04-doc1 Does a Croatian pre-insolvency proceeding lead to a suspension of civil proceedings pending in the Netherlands?