Bankruptcy: Law and Practice presents a comprehensive guide to the law of bankruptcy in England and Wales and how it is applied in practice, focusing on this key area of personal insolvency law in order to provide a full understanding of how these laws operate. Alaric Watson and Stephen Baister provide an up-to-date and in-depth analysis of every aspect of bankruptcy law. In addition, this new work also examines the historical and socio-economic context in which this field of law operates and the policies that govern it, the impact of the death or incapacity of the debtor, the interrelationship between bankruptcy and both matrimonial law and employment law and various cross-border considerations. Key Features: Exploration of the jurisdictional and procedural requirements for initiating bankruptcy proceedings and their immediate effects Insights into the role and powers of the official receiver and the trustee in bankruptcy, and the administration of the estate and the realisation of assets Investigation into the undoing of antecedent transactions Discussion of the processing of creditors' claims and the distribution of dividends and how orders may be reviewed, appealed or annulled Bankruptcy: Law and Practice is essential reading for lawyers, insolvency practitioners, academics and students concerned with issues relating to personal insolvency.

The so-called Quistclose trust probably represents the single most important application of equitable principles in commercial life. (Lord Millett in the foreword to this book). The decision of the House of Lords in Twinsectra v Yardley has refocused attention on the Quistclose trust. Although accepted by insolvency lawyers as a convenient tool for corporate rescue, the precise basis of the trust has always been in doubt. The purpose of these essays is to explore the foundations of the trust and subject them to a searching analysis. Contributors: Robert Stevens (Oxford), 'Rolls Razor Ltd'; William Swadling (Oxford), 'Orthodoxy'; James Penner (LSE), 'Lord Millett's Analysis'; Lionel Smith (McGill), 'Understanding the Power'; Robert Chambers (Alberta),'Restrictions on the Use of Money'; Peter Birks (Oxford),'Retrieving Tied Money'; Ewan McKendrick (Oxford), 'Commerce'; Robert Stevens (Oxford), 'Insolvency'; George Gretton (Edinburgh),'Scotland'.

This book covers the pressing issues of cross-border cases involving admiralty and bankruptcy law. For example, what should happen when a shipowner files an insolvency proceeding in one country, while at the same time facing an in rem action against its vessel in another country? Should the in rem action arising in one country be stayed or dismissed because of the existence of insolvency proceedings in another country? The book discusses the relevant issues regarding the treatment of maritime creditors throughout insolvency proceedings, the determination of the 'centre of main interest' of an offshore shipping company, and the scope of a debtor's assets. The author uses a comparative law analysis, selecting four leading shipping countries - Australia, the UK, the US, and Singapore - and examines their approaches to the above three problems when applying the UNCITRAL Model Law regime. The book also proposes a solution to help eliminate the ambiguity arising from maritime cross-border insolvency cases under the UNCITRAL Model Law regime, with a view to enhancing the development of the shipping industry.

A compendium of forty five articles on the restructuring process intended as a guide for corporate directors and officers.

In this Research Handbook, today's leading experts on the law and economics of corporate bankruptcy address fundamental issues such as the efficiency of bankruptcy, the role and treatment of creditors - particularly secured creditors - in the bankruptcy process, the allocation of going-concern surplus among claimants, the desirability of liquidation in the absence of such surplus, the role of contract in bankruptcy resolution, the role of derivatives in the bankruptcy process, the costs of the bankruptcy system, and the special case of financial institutions, among other topics. Chapters trace the historical path of both law and policy analysis, with a focus on how the bankruptcy process serves underlying policy objectives. Proposals to reform corporate bankruptcy are presented. Research Handbook on Corporate Bankruptcy Law includes policy analysis by both lawyers and economists and is thus an invaluable resource to law scholars and students interested in the economic analysis of corporate bankruptcy law, as well as to economics and business scholars and students studying the law of corporate bankruptcy. These pages will prove equally valuable to lawmakers and judges who are interested in policy analysis of corporate bankruptcy. Contributors include: K. Ayotte, D.G. Baird, A.J. Casey, T.H. Jackson, M.B. Jacoby, E.J. Janger, S.J. Lubben, E.R. Morrison, J.A.E. Pottow, R.K. Rasmussen, M.J. Roe, A. Schwartz, M. Simkovic, D. Skeel, R. Squire, G. Triantis, M.J. White, T.J. Zywicki

This book shows that a special bank bankruptcy regime is desirable for the efficient restructuring and/or liquidation of distressed banks. It explores in detail both the principal features of corporate bankruptcy law and the specific characteristics of banks including the importance of public confidence, negative externalities of bank failures, fragmented regulatory framework, bank opaqueness, and the related asset-substitution problem and liquidity provision. These features distinguish banks from other corporations and are largely neglected in corporate bankruptcy law. The authors, an assistant professor for money and finance and a research economist at the Dutch Central Bank, propose changes in both prudential regulation and reorganization policies that should allow regulators and banking authorities to better mitigate disruptions in the financial system and minimize the social costs of bank failures. Their recommendations are complemented by a discussion of bank failures from the 2007-2009 financial crisis.

Private persons often stand surety for a business debt incurred by family members, friends, or employers. These suretyships are commonly banking guarantees contracted by means of standard terms. Sometimes the guarantor signs the contract while he/she is not aware of the financial risk related to the guarantee. He or she may not even know what a suretyship is. But in other circumstances the guarantor may be well aware of the risk, but may nonetheless assume it because of strong emotional ties which exist between him/her and the main debtor. How, then, (if at all) does the law address the potential for 'unfairness' in such situations?
Some systems choose to rely on objective criteria, such as identification of a manifest disproportion between the guaranteed amount and the surety's income and assets, while others are more open to subjective inquiry. The key point is variation. Different jurisdictions in Europe operate different models with different priorities.
This book provides a comparative overview of the remedies against unfair obligations of non-professional guarantors available in 22 EU Member States, based on a questionnaire which has been completed by an expert in each particular jurisdiction and covering both legal rules and the economic context of different credit markets and banking practices.

This book is a comprehensive commentary on the EIR in light of recent decisions of the ECJ and decisions of the judicatures of the various Member States of the EU. It contains a commentary on Article 102, Sections 1 to 11 of the German EGInsO (The Act Introducing the Insolvency Act), as well as country reports on the international insolvency laws of France, Great Britain, and Hungary. This book also deals with the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency together with detailed references to the international insolvency laws of the U.S.A., and it also includes a discussion of protocols. The appendix to the commentary on Article 3 of the EIR contains an extensive Table of Cases, which sets out over 100 cases from the various Member States, including decisions and literature references. While thus being tailored to the needs of the European insolvency practitioner, this commentary also serves as a knowledge-base from which further exploration of the material can begin. The contributing authors are all well-respected academics and practitioners in Germany, England, France, Hungary, and the U.S.A.

The subject of bank stability has been under a great amount of political and legislative scrutiny since the mid-2007 to late-2009 global financial crisis. However, these efforts have centred on developed economies. Little coverage is given to strategies adopted by many developing economies. While there is a global discourse on the subject of insolvency generally, there is ample scope to contribute to the growing body of work on the narrow subject of bank insolvencies. This book provides a unique perspective on an emerging theme in at least two respects. First is the focus on selected developing economies and selected developed economies in the EMEA region alongside cross-border developments, with the objective of deciphering the regulatory approach to bank insolvencies. The second is the analytical consideration of methods that may be implemented to preclude or resolve bank insolvencies in developing economies. This book explores the nexus between developing economies and their banking institutions. Developing economies are acutely dependent on their banks for the functioning of their cash-based economies. Recent events, however, suggest a weakness in the long-term viability of some of their banks and a mixed-bag regulatory approach to redress this weakness. This book evaluates the effectiveness of regulatory frameworks in selected developing economies that are designed to prevent or resolve the insolvency of banks. At a time of global economic uncertainty, this book will prove to be a valuable resource to the discourse on the viability of banks, businesses, and economies in developing States.

This book focuses on the legal implications of how assets are held on behalf of investors by other parties (such as brokers, investment managers, specialist custodians and central depositaries) and in particular how the chosen method affects the legal rights of the investor over the assets in question. The impact of immobilisation, dematerialisation, fungible holdings and settlement practices are all considered. The book also covers the effect of the use of custody assets for security, the duties of custodians, the remedies of investors, cross-border custody and the regulatory response to custody business. An authoritative work for practitioners, academics and reference libraries specializing in financial services, banking and investment law, both in the UK and internationally, it provides one of the clearest and most up to date analyses of these subjects available.

This book examines the effect of the adoption of the United Nations Committee on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency in five common law jurisdictions, namely Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America. It examines how each of those states has adopted, interpreted and applied the provisions of the Model Law, and highlights the effects of inconsistencies by examining jurisprudence in each of these countries, specifically how the Model Law affects existing principles of recognition of insolvency proceedings. The book examines how the UNCITRAL Guide to enactment of the Model Law has affected the interpretation of each of its articles and, in turn, the courts' ability to interpret and hence give effect to the purposes of the Model Law. It also considers the ability of courts to refer to amendments made to the Guide after enactment of the Model Law in a state, thereby questioning whether the current inconsistencies in interpretation can be overcome by UNCITRAL amending the Guide.

This book seeks to provide an extensive analysis of the equitable doctrine of marshalling in the way that it applies to secured debt. There is detailed and systematic reference to the application of marshalling in the United Kingdom, in particular the conditions that must be satisfied before marshalling will assist a secured creditor and the limitations imposed on its effective operation. There is also substantial comparative material with extensive analysis of Commonwealth law and selected US authorities. This book will appeal equally to those specialists working in equity, banking and finance law and to commercial lawyers more generally.

Critically analyzing the substantive law of insolvency in the EU countries as a whole, this book carries out horizontal cross-cutting analysis of the data gathered from a study of national insolvency laws. It selects particular areas for detailed discussion and considers the pros and cons of particular legislative solutions. Using the US and Norway as comparator countries, the expert authors identify areas where disparities in national laws produce problems that have impacts outside national boundaries. They analyse these against key policy goals including; improving economic performance throughout the EU, Promoting a more competitive business environment, efficient asset allocation and building more stable and sustainable human capital in terms of support for entrepreneuers and responses to consumer overindebtedness. The book also considers possible reform and harmonisation measures situated against the wider contextual background of the Capital Markets Union and the Europe 2020 agenda of promoting jobs and growth. Discerning and practical, European Insolvency Law will appeal to academics in both insolvency and finance as well as Insolvency practitioners and lawyers. Its reform suggestions will be of interest to EU Member States' government departments as well as providing a useful reference for Consumer associations and Debt charities.

There is increasing regulatory interdependence amongst Central, East and South East Asia, European and North American financial markets, and these markets account for over one-third of the world's population and global financial markets. As these Asian markets become more integral to global financial economy, more cohesive, compatible and integrated insolvency and restructuring laws are essential. This two-volume work reviews why we should internationalise current cross-border insolvency and how we could restructure laws to address inadequacies. The two-volume work evaluates international regulatory reforms directed at detecting and managing cross-border insolvency and restructuring crises across the entire economy including financial markets. The authors call for schemes of arrangements and letters of comfort to be formally accepted as international legal tools. The work also assesses recent, but as yet unregulated developments in financial agreements, namely, the use of close-out netting provisions. They are a significant preventative legal mechanism, protecting debtors, creditors and employees among others, before a declaration of insolvency. The book discusses international arbitration, data protection and artificial intelligence in cross-border insolvency and restructuring. Finally, it seeks a meaningful balance between self-regulation through financial contracts and other party practices, and regulation imposed by governments and international financial regulators. This extensive work will be a useful reference for legal practitioners, policy makers and scholars working on financial regulation and international financial laws.

There is increasing regulatory interdependence amongst Central, East and South East Asia, European and North American financial markets, and these markets account for over one-third of the world's population and global financial markets. As these Asian markets become more integral to global financial economy, more cohesive, compatible and integrated insolvency and restructuring laws are essential. This two-volume work reviews why we should internationalise current cross-border insolvency and how we could restructure laws to address inadequacies. The two-volume work evaluates international regulatory reforms directed at detecting and managing cross-border insolvency and restructuring crises across the entire economy including financial markets. The authors call for schemes of arrangements and letters of comfort to be formally accepted as international legal tools. The work also assesses recent, but as yet unregulated developments in financial agreements, namely, the use of close-out netting provisions. They are a significant preventative legal mechanism, protecting debtors, creditors and employees among others, before a declaration of insolvency. The book discusses international arbitration, data protection and artificial intelligence in cross-border insolvency and restructuring. Finally, it seeks a meaningful balance between self-regulation through financial contracts and other party practices, and regulation imposed by governments and international financial regulators. This extensive work will be a useful reference for legal practitioners, policy makers and scholars working on financial regulation and international financial laws.

There is increasing regulatory interdependence amongst Central, East and South East Asian, European and North American financial markets, and these markets account for over one-third of the world's population and global financial markets. As Asian markets become more integral to global financial economy, more cohesive, compatible and integrated insolvency and restructuring laws are essential. This two-volume work reviews why we should internationalise current cross-border insolvency and how we could restructure laws to address inadequacies. The two volumes evaluate international regulatory reforms directed at detecting and managing cross-border insolvency and restructuring crises across the entire economy including financial markets. The authors call for schemes of arrangements and letters of comfort to be formally accepted as international legal tools. The work also assesses recent, but as yet largely unregulated developments in financial agreements, particularly the use of close-out netting provisions that serve as significant protective mechanisms prior to the declaration of an insolvency. It discusses international arbitration, data protection and artificial intelligence in crossborder insolvency and restructuring. Finally, the book seeks a meaningful balance between self-regulation through financial contracts and other party practices, and regulation imposed by governments and international financial regulators. This extensive work will be a useful reference for legal practitioners, policy makers and scholars working on financial regulation and international financial laws.

There is increasing regulatory interdependence amongst Central, East and South East Asian, European and North American financial markets, and these markets account for over one-third of the world's population and global financial markets. As Asian markets become more integral to global financial economy, more cohesive, compatible and integrated insolvency and restructuring laws are essential. This two-volume work reviews why we should internationalise current cross-border insolvency and how we could restructure laws to address inadequacies. The two volumes evaluate international regulatory reforms directed at detecting and managing cross-border insolvency and restructuring crises across the entire economy including financial markets. The authors call for schemes of arrangements and letters of comfort to be formally accepted as international legal tools. The work also assesses recent, but as yet largely unregulated developments in financial agreements, particularly the use of close-out netting provisions that serve as significant protective mechanisms prior to the declaration of an insolvency. It discusses international arbitration, data protection and artificial intelligence in crossborder insolvency and restructuring. Finally, the book seeks a meaningful balance between self-regulation through financial contracts and other party practices, and regulation imposed by governments and international financial regulators. This extensive work will be a useful reference for legal practitioners, policy makers and scholars working on financial regulation and international financial laws.

This book examines the phenomenon of reservation of title clauses in commercial contracts and looks at the impact of these clauses upon the transactions of which they form a part. With the aid of data gathered from a field survey it also examines the impact of these clauses in situations of insolvency and the strategies employed by insolvency practitioners to counteract their effect. This subject is of increasing interest and importance for legal teaching and research and the book meets the demand for an integrated, readable study of insolvency practice.

This book presents problems that often arise in the context of international/cross-border insolvencies; analyzes and compares national legislations and jurisprudence; elucidates the solutions offered by international/regional instruments; and explores the differences in the implementation of these instruments by various countries and the consequences of these differences. It examines in detail a number of famous and less famous cases tried by national courts, in which it became readily apparent that insolvency law remains one of the bastions of national law. In addition, the book discusses the notion of transplanting foreign [international] insolvency rules and especially the influence that US insolvency law has exerted on other countries' insolvency [and international insolvency] law. Far from adopting an unrealistically optimistic stance, it soberly examines the complications of cross-border insolvencies, while also presenting potential solutions.

This important book provides a comprehensive analysis of governance issues that exist in relation to the management of insolvent companies, both while an insolvent company is still controlled by the directors and when it passes into the hands of an insolvency practitioner in a formal insolvency regime. Throughout, the authors argue that the two most important features of corporate governance are transparency and accountability and offer a detailed analysis of the relevant law and practice. Key Features: Examination of the position of all stakeholders in an insolvent company, both before and during an insolvency regime Specialist explanation of what corporate governance entails and the recent developments that have occurred in relation to corporate governance as it affects insolvent companies In-depth consideration of the role of creditors, shareholders, the Insolvency Service, special managers and creditors' committees during periods of insolvency as well as the role and functions of directors and insolvency practitioners who are the main focus Offering critical advice and bringing awareness of important issues, Corporate Governance and Insolvency will be a key reference work for lawyers and insolvency practitioners. The legal analysis provided will also be valuable to academics and students of corporate and insolvency law and governance.

This comprehensive book provides a clear analysis of the main features of the European Insolvency Regulation 2015/848, within the context of previous EU initiatives, as well as addressing the contrasting objectives of universalism and territorialism which underpin cross border insolvency law. It measures the EU regulations against the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross Border Insolvency and compares this with how the Model Law has been implemented elsewhere, such as in the US and the UK. Taking an accessible approach, Gerard McCormack examines key aspects of the regulations such as the opening of main and secondary insolvency proceedings, as well as applicable law and special rules in respect of security rights, rights in rem, transactional avoidance and set-off rights. Chapters also cover recognition of the opening of insolvency proceedings and of insolvency and related judgements, interactions between mean and secondary proceedings, the role of insolvency practitioners and courts, and the treatment of creditors. EU Insolvency Law will be critical reading for lawyers working in insolvency law, as well as other insolvency practitioners such as accountants. It will also be of interest to academics and students in the field, as well as policy makers in the EU and elsewhere, including national officials.

As a result of resumption of sovereignty over Hong Kong and Macao as well as the uncertain relationship between the Mainland and Taiwan, China has become a country composed of peculiar political compounds, resulting in four independent jurisdictions. This makes inter-regional legal cooperation a complicated yet compelling topic. Divided into five parts, this book considers possible solutions to problems in China's inter-regional cross-border insolvency cooperation. These solutions are developed on the basis of two groups of comparative studies, including comparison among the cross-border insolvency systems of the four independent jurisdictions in China and comparison between EU Insolvency Regulation and the UNCITRAL Model Law. The author discusses the advantages and disadvantages of the two systems and presents original recommendations for the way forward. The book will be a valuable resource for academics and policy makers in insolvency law, Asian law and comparative law.