The European Commission has proposed a directive on ‘preventive restructuring frameworks' for financially distressed firms. I demonstrate that the proposal is flawed because it creates a refuge for failing firms that should be liquidated, because it rules out going concern sales for viable...

The European Insolvency Regulation of 29 May 2000 was designed to ensure that the insolvency laws of EU Member States could operate effectively and efficiently in cross-border cases. To achieve this, the Regulation limits the circumstances in which insolvency proceedings can be opened in Member...

Two events are currently changing the landscape for business restructurings in the European Union: the “Restructuring Recommendation” (RR) of the European Commission, issued in 2014, and the 2015 recast of the European Insolvency Regulation (EIR). In this paper, we critically review the RR...

Since 2011, the European legislator has taken a new course of action on business failure and insolvency. For a long time, substantive harmonisation was considered unfeasible in the area of insolvency law, however, the developments over the past years have shown that the EU is committed to...

The rising tide of cross border acquisitions give rise to associated risks, which, at the very worst, include the spectre of an insolvent non-resident parent or subsidiary company. This paper describes an attempt made by the UNCITRAL to provide for a uniform standard of provisions relating to...

The European Commission published a draft Directive in November 2016, with the aim of ensuring that all Member States have in place an effective mechanism for dealing with viable, but financially distressed, businesses. The draft Directive includes provisions designed to encourage financing for...

Preventing future bail-outs for large, systemically important banks while minimizing the repercussions of bank insolvencies on the stability of the financial system and the economy at large has become a key policy objective for international standard-setters as well as national and supranational...