This afternoon, European Commissioner Věra Jourová will give a press conference on the European insolvency proposal. See here.
Author: Arie Van Hoe
Arie Van Hoe, lawyer (Janson) - corporate law, insolvency law, ESG.
Best practices in cross-border proceedings (SaveComp)
The goal of the SaveComp Project, funded by the European Union, is to collect and exchange best practices in the field of (pre-)insolvency cross-border proceedings, to help office holders in insolvency proceedings to better coordinate and implement international cooperation, thus enhancing management of multiple proceedings, reorganization of companies and the protection of creditors and interests of stakeholders. The Project aims to collect best practices, private international rules and case law in (pre)insolvency cross-border proceedings. Moreover, the Project aims to develop and exchange best practices with respect to cross-border proceedings. Continue reading “Best practices in cross-border proceedings (SaveComp)”
Rechtspersoonlijkheid voor robots?
Volgens sommige voorspellingen zullen 1/3 van de bestaande jobs in 2025 uitgeoefend worden door robots. Deze voorspelling voor de nabije toekomst stelt het recht voor uitdagingen die niet langer als science fiction afgedaan kunnen worden. Een belangrijke vraag in dit verband betreft het juridische statuut van robots. Continue reading “Rechtspersoonlijkheid voor robots?”
Secutarization and post-crisis financial regulation
The technique of securitization was at the heart of the financial crisis (for a primer on securitization, read here). Originally a sound instrument to mitigate risk, the standards of the securitization process degraded in the years leading up to the financial crisis, which contributed to excessive credit growth in and outside of the formal banking system (read here). Continue reading “Secutarization and post-crisis financial regulation”
Past and future of bankruptcy
In a recent insightful paper, professor Mark Roe (Harvard) reflects on the past and future of bankruptcy. Three ages of bankruptcy are identified and linked to underlying market-based phenomena and institutional conditions (comp., R. Clark, “The Interdisciplinary Study of Legal Evolution”, Yale Law Journal 1981, pp. 1238-1274). The paper also looks forward. New market trends are identified that will shape the future of bankruptcy law. The paper can be read here.
Towards a European covered bond framework
On 18 November 2016, the European Banking Authority (EBA) will be holding a public hearing to outline its draft proposals on the European covered bond framework. A presentation with the outline of the draft proposals on recommended further actions can be consulted here. The EBA report on covered bonds of July 2014, which identified best practices to enhance robustness of the covered bond regulation across the EU, can be read here.
When the Going Gets Tough, the Shareholders Get Going
Last week was a busy week for the Court of Justice (read here and here). A third judgment worth mentioning is the Dowling and Others judgment (read here). This judgment concerns the position of shareholders (of institutions of systemic importance) in times of financial crisis. Continue reading “When the Going Gets Tough, the Shareholders Get Going”
Commercial Law Centre Webinar (University of Oxford)
The Commercial Law Centre (University of Oxford) hosts a series of interesting webinars. Previous webinars dealt with principles of cross-border insolvency law (Reinhard Bork) and form and substance in the determination of property rights (Anthony Duggan). Continue reading “Commercial Law Centre Webinar (University of Oxford)”
All creditors are equal, but some creditors are more equal than others
Les biens du débiteur sont le gage commun de ses créanciers, et le prix s’en distribue entre eux par contribution, à moins qu’il n’y ait entre les créanciers des causes légitimes de préférence
Article 8 Belgian Loi Hypothécaire (art. 2093 French Civil Code) contains the basic principle of paritas creditorum. All creditors have an equal right to payment and the proceeds of the debtor’s estate shall be distributed in proportion to the size of their claims. The principle of equality is, however, not absolute. Secured and preferred creditors jump the queue, and are paid before ordinary creditors. The pari passu principle still is a bedrock principle of insolvency law. In reality, however, the rule has gradually become the exception (read about the pari passu myth, here). Ordinary creditors are left with peanuts once secured and preferred creditors are paid. All creditors are equal, but some creditors are more equal than others, indeed. Continue reading “All creditors are equal, but some creditors are more equal than others”
The Insolvency Regulation (case-law)
Enefi – article 4 Regulation 1346/2000
In its recent Enefi judgment (C‑212/15, read here, no English translation available yet) the Court of Justice interpreted article 4 of Regulation 1346/2000. The judgment illustrates the shifting boundaries of the framework underlying the Insolvency Regulation.
Sovereign Debt Restructuring and International Law
The Max Planck Institute Luxembourg for International, European and Regulatory Procedural Law organises a series of lectures on sovereign debt (see here). In the absence of an international legal framework, the process of sovereign debt structuring remains fragmented and uncertain. This is best illustrated by the decade and a half of litigation that followed Argentina’s sovereign bond default in 2001 (read here).
The first two lectures (“The Law and Economics of Sovereign Debt and Default” and “Sovereign Debt Restructuring and International Law”) can be found here.
The High Court of England and Wales approves Nortel’s global settlement
In a previous post (Everybody loses … except the lawyers) the settlement in the bankruptcy liquidation of Nortel Networks Corp was announced. Last week, the High Court of Justice approved this settlement. The judgment can be read here.
De nieuwe kleren van de keizer
In een vonnis van 31 oktober 2016 heeft de rechtbank van koophandel te Antwerpen de homologatie van het reorganisatieplan van de NV Corsan geweigerd. In een aantal vonnissen van dezelfde datum werd eveneens de homologatie van de reorganisatieplannen van met de NV Corsan verbonden (project)vennootschappen geweigerd. Over de achtergrond van deze zaken is voldoende verslag gedaan in de (financiële) pers. De NV Corsan had zich toegelegd op de productie van films, o.a. het historische epos Emperor, gebruik makend van de fiscaal gunstige tax shelter-regeling. Een dispuut over de toepassing van deze regeling lag mede aan de grondslag van de financiële problemen van de schuldenaar. Continue reading “De nieuwe kleren van de keizer”
Values in bankruptcy law
“Suppose that a bankruptcy judge has two options in a bankruptcy proceeding of a factory. First, the judge could reorganize the factory, resulting in a $1,000,000 payment to creditors and keeping the factory largely intact. Second, the judge could liquidate the factory, resulting in a $1,500,000 payment to creditors and the loss of 1,000 jobs as the factory is shuttered. What should the bankruptcy judge choose?”
With this deliberately provocative question Zachary Liscow rekindles the debate about the fundamental values of bankruptcy law in a recent article published in the Columbia Law Review (read here). Continue reading “Values in bankruptcy law”
Debt: use it wisely
“L’homme moderne est dans bien des cas plus enclin à la dépense que ne l’étaient ses ancêtres” (F. H. Speth, La divisibilité du patrimoine et l’entreprise d’une personne, Parijs, L.G.D.J., 1958, 10)
Our society is credit driven. Consumers and companies borrow against future earnings to finance actual spending. Banks borrow for a living. The Government borrows to pay for social peace, pushing the bill towards future generations. Money for nothing only exists in pop songs. Credit eventually has to be paid by somebody, be it the debtor or society as a whole.
The International Monetary Fund recently publised a report on the proliferation of private sector debt. Continue reading “Debt: use it wisely”
Corporate Finance Lab 