Insolvency Blog - European Insolvency

Eurofenix is INSOL Europe's quarterly journal. Like insolvencyblog.com(!), it is essential reading for all insolvency practitioners, distressed investors and other relevant professionals who are interested in European insolvency and restructuring. I declare an interest as Eurofenix's editor. If you like it, use this form to become a subscriber and receive your personal copy each quarter. ...

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The famous decision on COMI (Centre of Main Interests) and the opening of main insolvency proceedings under the European Insolvency Regulation, which involved an Irish subsidiary of the Italian Parmalat group, is not the easiest to find quickly on the internet, so here's the link: Eurofood IFSC Ltd, European Court of Justice Case C-341/04, Judgement of the Court (Grand Chamber), 2 May 2006 and here's the preceding Advocate General's Opinion: Opinion of Advocate General Jacobs, 27 September 2005 For a selection of commentaries, try the following links: eir-database.com: Commentary on Case C-341/04 A&L Goodbody (solicitors for the Irish...

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For a useful and accessible summary of the key points of Cypriot insolvency law, see Andreas Neocleous' article here....

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A version of this article first appeared in Recovery, Autumn 2004. A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, and I hope this outline doesn ...

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Although he describes Judge Drain's decision in In re SPhinX Ltd as pragmatic and commercial, Chris Mallon of Weil, Gotshal & Manges uses the case in an article entitled: Bankruptcy Blunder to illustrate his view that the uncertainty inherent in the Model Law makes credit-risk assessment very difficult and encourages forum shopping (and he expresses similar concern about the European Insolvency Regulation). I think the benefits of legislation encouraging cooperation between insolvency regimes far outweigh the risks of forum shopping. Of course parties will seek to gain advantage from any perceived uncertainty and some courts may react less predictably than others,...

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I review Dr Eberhard Braun's book "Commentary on the German Insolvency Code" in the Winter 2007 issue of Eurofenix - and below. The book, which Bob Wessels has also reviewed (here), has contributions from some 20 authors from Schultze & Braun. Dr Braun's impressive volume is written in English and runs to almost 3,000 paragraphs of commentary over some 600 pages, 95% of which are devoted to commentary on the Insolvency Code, section by section. It also contains a bibliography with around 700 entries. What the reader should remember is that this is a book written from a German perspective. It quite rightly does...

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A secondary liquidator has to tell all the debtor's creditors about the secondary proceedings and must pass to the main liquidator details of any creditors the main liquidator may not know about, so that the main liquidator can notify them of the main proceedings. For example, a Hungarian liquidator (appointed in territorial proceedings) learns that a German liquidator has previously been appointed in main proceedings. The Hungarian liquidator must inform all creditors in Hungary and elsewhere of the secondary Hungarian proceedings and moreover he or she must provide all creditors...

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The reach of territorial and secondary proceedings is restricted, but I think it important to note that the restriction is partial. In relation to non-main proceedings and the territory in which they were opened: The effect of those proceedings shall be restricted to the assets of the debtor situated in the territory of the latter Member State. (Article 3(2), European Insolvency Regulation). I think the key phrase is "the assets of the debtor situated in the territory". Article 3(2) does not refer to "the establishment situated in the territory", so the territorial or secondary liquidator is a liquidator of the debtor (albeit...

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