CERIL Report 2018-2 Published
On 12 December 2018, the Conference on European Restructuring and Insolvency Law (CERIL) published its CERIL REPORT 2018-2 on Cross-border Restructuring and Insolvency post-Brexit.
CERIL highlights the relationship between the EU and the UK after Brexit in the area of restructuring and insolvency law and seeks to formulate a position on the nature and content of a possible future instrument governing that relationship in its CERIL Statement 2018-2. CERIL argues for the development of a bilateral agreement between the EU and the UK in the field of insolvency and restructuring. Such bilateral agreement would mirror, with certain safeguards, the structure and content of the EIR Recast. It would cover international jurisdiction of courts, applicable law, a mutual system of recognition and enforcement and rules on cooperation and communication between UK and EU insolvency practitioners and courts.
The CERIL report highlights the relationship between the EU and the UK after Brexit and considers several solutions on how to fill the gap that will be left if, after Brexit, the European Insolvency Regulation (Recast) will cease to apply. CERIL submits that a future agreement should be developed as a 'parallel instrument'. The Lugano Convention, which basically extends the framework of the Brussels I Regulation vis à vis EFTA States, or the bilateral agreement extending the Brussels I Regulation to Denmark may be used as a model. In this way conflicting interpretations by courts in the UK and the EU can be prevented.
The report was initiated and chaired by Prof. Francisco Garcimartín (University Autónoma of Madrid and Linklaters), and Prof. Michael Veder (Radboud University Nijmegen and RESOR) with the support of a CERIL working group investigating the possible consequences of Brexit on cross-border restructuring and insolvency in relation to the remaining EU. CERIL Report 2018-2 presents the result of this study.
Both the CERIL Statement 2018-2 and the full CERIL Report 2018-2 can be read via
http://www.ceril.eu/publications/ceril-report-2018-2-on-cross-border-restructuring-and-insolvency-post-brexit/
International Comparative Bankruptcy Conference (Miami, Thursday 14-Friday 15 November 2019)
The University of Miami School of Law and the University of Miami International & Comparative Law Review are pleased to announce the Second International and Comparative Insolvency Law Symposium, which will take place on Thursday 14-Friday 15 2019 at the Newman Alumni Center, 6200 San Amaro Drive, Coral Gables, Florida 33146 between 08h00-17h00 on both days. A Call for Papers has now been issued, the deadline for which is 31 January 2019. Contributions from academics of all levels, fellows, and graduate students will be welcome.
Further details are available from
Professor Adrian Walters or via the
conference website.
Leiden PhD Workshop in honour of Emeritus Professor Bob Wessels (Leiden, Thursday 28 February 2019)
The
Stichting Bob Wessels Insolvency Law Collection will hold a PhD workshop on the theme of European/International Insolvency Law on Thursday 28 February 2019. The one-day workshop will provide PhD students in the area of European/International Insolvency Law with a chance to connect with peers who are at the very same stage of their legal or academic career and also present, test and discuss their (developing) ideas in front of fellow colleagues as well as experienced professors in order to strengthen their research findings and skills.
The workshop is sponsored by the
Stichting Bob Wessels Insolvency Law Collection which supports the international and European insolvency law section of the Law School library of Leiden University. The
Stichting will provide one night's accommodation in Leiden and (if not otherwise reimbursed) a maximum of 50% of the travel expenses up to EUR 250. Applications to participate in the workshop can be downloaded
here.
Completed applications must be submitted by 31 December 2018 to
Professor Stephan Madaus. Applications will be reviewed by the Board of the Stichting. Participants at the PhD Workshop will also be able compete for a prize (a choice from the Collection which was not selected or made available by the Library and an amount of EUR 500) to be awarded for the most original presentation.
Funding awarded for the JCOERE Project
The European Commission has awarded funding under the JUST/2017/Action Grants programme to a project led by Professor Irene Lynch Fannon, a noted academic at the University College Cork writes Paul J. Omar, Technical Research Coordinator, INSOL Europe. The project, titled Judicial Co-Operation supporting Economic Recovery in Europe (or JCOERE for short), also involves the University of Florence, Titu Maiorescu University Bucharest and INSOL Europe.
Work on the project, which is scheduled to last two years, will focus on rules and practice which might present obstacles to the co-operation obligation referred to in Articles 42 and 57 of the Recast EIR. Given the prospective adoption of the Draft Directive on preventive restructuring in 2019, the project will analyse current procedural, substantive and other rules existing in a number of member states that might impede the way in which courts communicate and cooperate with each other.
The dissemination of information and outcomes is an important part of this project which will facilitate improved awareness of co-operation and communication provisions in insolvency texts and make available practical experience which might inform future steps to be taken by practitioners and judges in the administration of cross-border cases.
9th Grand Prize Jean Bastin 2019
The Fonds Scientifique Jean Bastin, a Belgian international non-profit association, will grant a substantial amount in the form of a Prize 20.000 euros to the author of the best thesis in the area of the indebtedness and solvency of the States. Granted for the first time in 1992, this is the 9th Grand Prix Jean Bastin 2019 Prize. It is one of the most prestigious in the legal and economical domain. The thesis must have been published after 1 January 2016 or to be published. Three areas of particular interest for the prize application have been mentioned:
The State in arbitration - International commercial arbitration and investment arbitration. Issue with the enforcement of arbitral awards against a State. Scope and limit of immunity from enforcement. Remedies. The issue of enforcement and post-arbitration mediation on the quantum of the conviction.
The State-debtor - Issue of vulture funds, protective legislations. Debt market. Forum shopping. Enforcement of foreign arbitral decisions or awards.
The State in bankruptcy - Problem of the public debt - IMF surveillance.
The thesis must be introduced, in conformity with the procedure set under the rules, by 30 November 2018 at the latest. It will be assessed by a Jury of four Belgian professors, and be presided by Minister of State Mark Eyskens. For more details regarding the subjects and the participation rules: www.fsjb.be (only in French) or contact info@fsjb.be. Flyer available here.
Joint Aston-Wolverhampton Conference (Birmingham, 15 November 2018)
Aston and Wolverhampton Law Schools will be jointly hosting a conference titled “15 years of the Enterprise Act 2002 Insolvency Reforms: Reflection and Thoughts on Future Reform” on Thursday 15 November 2018. The purpose of the conference is to acknowledge that Autumn 2018 marks 15 years since the Enterprise Act 2002 introduced significant reforms to the insolvency regime in the UK. Whilst there have been numerous consultations and some reforms since, the current framework is very much shaped by those reforms. To mark this anniversary, Aston University and the University of Wolverhampton will be hosting a free one-day conference at Conference Aston in Birmingham city centre. The event will reflect on the impact of the Enterprise Act 2002 reforms on UK insolvency proceedings and also consider the potential for further reform. The Law Schools are delighted to be joined by keynote speakers, such as Professor Andrew Keay (Leeds), Professor David Milman (Lancaster) and Associate Professor David Brown (Adelaide) who will be presenting papers.
The organisers would like to invite submissions on the theme of the Enterprise Act 2002 reforms to UK insolvency proceedings and the need for further reform on all aspects of insolvency law. Submissions from doctoral and early career researchers are particularly encouraged. An abstract (of no more than 250 words) should be sent to Chris Umfreville at: by the deadline of 31 August 2018. All submissions must include your institution, email address and phone number. Any queries or requests for further information should also be directed to Chris Umfreville. Further details about the conference, including how to register for attendance at this free event, will be published later in the summer.
INSOL International Academics’ Group Conference (London, 12-13 July 2018)
The 20th Colloquium of the INSOL International Academics’ Group will take place in London in July 2018. The colloquium will be a 2-day event commencing with a Welcome Function on the evening of Wednesday 11 and running over Thursday 12–Friday 13 July in Central London at the BMA House in Tavistock Square.
EU-Funded Joint Insolvency Project Conference on Best Practices in European Restructuring (Brussels, Thursday 5 July 2018)
A consortium of universities, including the University of Florence (Lorenzo Stanghellini/Riz Mokal), the Humboldt Universität von Berlin (Christoph Paulus) and the Universidad Autónoma of Madrid (Ignacio Tirado), will be holding a full-day workshop in Brussels to present the results of an EU-funded research project on contractual and semi-formal debt restructuring tools in the EU. The project, titled “Best Practices in European Restructuring Contractualised Distress Resolution in the Light of the Directive Proposal of 22 November 2016”, will discuss with attendees the project outcomes and implications for the Directive Proposal.
The workshop, for which participants will need to register, will take place in Brussels at the Centre for European Policy Studies (CEPS), 1 place du Congrès, 1000 Brussels on Thursday 5 July 2018 from 9.00–18:00. Further information, including the final agenda and preparatory materials, country reports for Italy, the UK, Germany and Spain as well as a summary of “best practices” identified through the project, will be circulated in advance of the meeting. In the interim, information on the project is available on a dedicated website at: or from Professor Lorenzo Stanghellini at: .
Call for papers - Athens 2018
The Academic Forum of INSOL Europe will be hosting its annual conference in Athens on Wednesday 3 October–Thursday 4 October 2018.
Expressions of interest are invited for the delivery of papers within the overall conference theme, which will be: “Party Autonomy and Third Party Protection in Insolvency Law”
The theme is intended to allow for papers that address issues of contract law, property law, company law and private international law that focus on, inter alia, the following topics:
- The enforceability of contractual clauses, such as ipso facto clauses, divestment clauses, choice of law and choice of forum clauses, in insolvency;
- Transaction avoidance rules, from the point of view of applicable law as well as harmonization of substantive law in the EU;
- COMI-shifts and the transfer of the corporate seat of companies within the EU (in light of case C-106/16 (Polbud) and the EU’s “Company Law Upgrade Package”);
- Possibilities of and limits to the use of group structures;
- Distinguishing between use and abuse of restructuring: asset partitioning and loan to own strategies;
- The position of secured creditors in insolvency proceedings, such as the effects of arrangements between lenders and borrowers in relation to third parties and the initiatives of the European Union in relation to the accelerated enforcement of collateral;
- Financial restructuring: debt for equity strategies and tailoring affected classes;
- Reorganisation procedures and gifting: gifting as a violation of the Absolute Prioirity Rule or as a ‘boost’ a reorganisation procedure;
- Increased flexibility in the labour market and its effects on insolvency (freelance contractors excluded from workers' and wage protection?);
- The increased attractiveness for certain stakeholders to use insolvency proceedings as a means to restructure a company or its business and (the ‘pull-effect’ of insolvency) its effects on third parties.
In light of the particular success of past conferences, the intention for this conference is to have papers that challenge existing approaches, stimulate debate and ask profound questions about the above mentioned topics. Proposals are invited that do more than just outline a topic of interest in respect of any given jurisdiction, but seek to understand, analyse and critique the fundamentals of insolvency law and take the subject forward. Papers that have a comparative and/or an empirical angle are particularly welcome.
Younger Academics are, of course, also invited to submit papers on the topics mentioned above, but they may also choose to present their research in the session that is dedicated to the Young Academics’ Network in Insolvency Law (YANIL).
Expressions of interest in delivering papers within the conference theme should be communicated by 15 March 2018 to Anthon Verweij, IEAF Secretary, by e-mail at: anthon.verweij@gmail.com. Please include a brief outline of the main issues and theses to be addressed in the paper. Proposals for papers will then be selected by the management board and the board will communicate around 1 April 2018 which papers have been selected for inclusion within the conference.
After selection of proposed papers the panel chairs will contact participants of each session to arrange a joint conference call to discuss the outlines of the proposed papers and align presentations, discuss joining instructions and outline the set-up of the conference programme.
We also draw your attention to the availability of travel grants. For more information on the criteria for eligibility, download the form here.
2nd Cross-Border Corporate Insolvency and Commercial Law Research Group Conference, 27 April 2018, City University, London
The Cross-Border Corporate Insolvency and Commercial Law Research Group at the City University London will be organising their 2nd research conference and symposium on Friday 27 April 2018.
The event is intended to bring together senior and promising junior scholars who wish to present their research to a multinational specialist audience in the field of corporate insolvency and commercial law.
The event will consist of two sessions: a Senior Scholars’ Session, where scholars and practitioners will be able to present their papers on current issues in corporate insolvency law at national, European and international level and a Young Scholars’ Session dedicated to young researchers, PhD Candidates and postgraduate students who will have the opportunity to present their work followed by a Q&A discussion.
The event aims to promote fruitful research collaboration between its participants and to encourage their integration in a community of legal scholars. A modest conference fee will be charged (£29 City students, £39 Speakers, £49 Non-Speakers) to cover the cost of materials, equipment, venue, lunch and refreshments. The fee has been deliberately kept low to encourage wide participation.
For further information or to book a place at the conference and symposium, please visit the conference webpage, where an online payment facility is also available, at:
<https://www.city.ac.uk/events/2018/april/2nd-corporate-insolvency-commercial-law-conference>.
