This comprehensive book provides a clear analysis of the European Restructuring Directive, which aims to improve national frameworks governing business restructuring and insolvency as well as to provide debt relief for individuals. Gerard McCormack explores the key aspects of the Directive including the moratorium on litigation and enforcement claims against the financially-troubled business, the provision for new financing, the division of creditors into classes, the introduction of a restructuring plan and the rules for approval of the plan by a court or administrative authority. Key features include: a unique contextualisation of the Directive, situating it against the backdrop of earlier European initiatives identification of important parallels with the UK scheme of arrangement and the new UK restructuring plan procedure embodied in the Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 a comparison of the Directive with Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code, the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law legislative guide on insolvency, and the World Bank's Insolvency and Creditor Rights and Doing Business projects. This important new book provides a detailed and practical analysis of the Directive and the implications for its transposition into national laws, making it an essential work for insolvency lawyers and practitioners, as well as EU policy makers. It will also be critical reading for academics and students of law, particularly those interested in commercial, insolvency, corporate and European law.

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.

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.

'This is a very timely book that addresses an important subject, namely, attempts to harmonise the law governing secured transactions. The focus is on UNCITRAL and its Legislative Guide on Secured Transactions. Professor McCormack has written a provocative book that challenges existing orthodoxy. It is a stimulus for critical thinking and is essential reading for those interested in the subject. It also provides an informed account of the workings of UNCITRAL, contains much valuable material on harmonisation and uniformity, and displays a thorough grounding in the theoretical literature.' -Michael Bridge, London School of Economics, UK'Professor McCormack has taken the challenge to write a truly original book about secured transactions, which is rather good news when so many publications seem to rehash the same ideas. He is not afraid to tackle questions usually ignored by lawyers, such as the political aspects of harmonisation of law. This should challenge all involved to seriously re-examine the premises on the basis of which they work.' - Frederique Dahan, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development This is a discerning analysis of international harmonization efforts for secured credit law and examines the role of globalization and finance capital in shaping such efforts. Gerard McCormack reveals how an 'efficient' law is often seen to increase the availability, and lower the cost, of credit, thereby contributing to international development. He considers whether the most comprehensive international standard the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) Legislative Guide (2008) is actually suitable for adoption at the national level. In particular, he examines the hypothesis that American law and lawyers have shaped the content of the guide to the extent that it is not suitable for translation into other laws. This book will be of great interest to practitioners, policy makers and academics, as well as students, particularly postgraduate students, of law and business throughout the world. Contents: Preface 1. Introduction 2. The Case for Harmonising and Modernising the Law of International Trade 3. Harmonising and Modernising Secured Transactions Law 4. National Models and Replication Across International Frontiers Article 9 of the American Uniform Commercial Law and the English Common Law 5. International Harmonisation Efforts Before the UNCITRAL Legislative Guide 6. The UNCITRAL Secured Transactions Guide 7. The Insolvency Legislative Guide 8. Conclusion Index

This book offers an unprecedented and detailed comparative critique of Anglo-American corporate bankruptcy law. It challenges the standard characterisation that US law in the sphere of corporate bankruptcy is 'pro-debtor' and UK law is 'pro-creditor', and suggests that the traditional thesis is, at best, a potentially misleading over-simplification. Gerard McCormack offers the conclusion that there is functional convergence in practice, while acknowledging that corporate rescue, as distinct from business rescue, still plays a larger role in the US. The focus is on corporate restructurings with in-depth scrutiny of Chapter 11 of the US Bankruptcy Code and the UK Enterprise Act, and offers other comparative oversights. Integrating theoretical and practical insights, this book will be of great interest to academics and practitioners, and also to policymakers in the DTI, Insolvency Service and regulatory bodies.

Under English law it is possible to secure credit on almost any asset, but the law is widely considered to be unsatisfactory. Gerard McCormack examines English law and highlights its weaknesses. He uses Article 9 of the American Uniform Commercial Code as a reference point for reform. This Article has successfully serviced the world's largest economy for over 40 years and is increasingly used as the basis for legislation by Commonwealth jurisdictions--including Canada and New Zealand.

Security rights are of fundamental importance to the granting of credit. They are generally considered to increase the availability and lower the cost of credit but there appear to be divergent views across Europe and elsewhere on the extent to which it should be possible to create security rights over assets.Moreover, laws in many countries - avoidance laws - strike at advantage gaining by creditors in the period immediately before formal insolvency proceedings are instituted. It is seen as potentially unfair to other creditors who may be forced into taking enforcement proceedings against the debtor and this may precipitate the premature liquidation of the debtor with an overall loss of economic value.The book will assess the conception of security rights according to the different European legal traditions.It will also evaluate the appropriateness of the protection given to security rights in light of:- developments in those European legal traditions;- the objective of the Insolvency Regulation to facilitate the more effective administration of cross-border insolvency cases; - the need for security in the context of the financial crisis;- the basic principles of ensuring fairness between creditors;- forestalling premature liquidation; and- reinforcing the collective nature of the insolvency process. The growth strategy put forward by the European Commission, Europe 2020, is designed to achieve economy recovery and sustainable growth, targeting as primary goals a higher investment rate and the preservation of employment. The rescue of troubled enterprises is at the core of this strategy and the book plots the alignment between this strategy and the evolution of the Insolvency Regulation.The objective is to facilitate a situation where economic and social systems are adaptable, resilient and fair; where economic activity is sustainable; and where human values are respected.