The great novelty of Netherlands Insolvency Law is that it is the first book in the English language covering the Netherlands insolvency law as a whole. It is a practical book for use by internal and external legal counsel, Dutch and non Dutch companies, students, academics and practitioners alike, presenting not only the principal concepts but also the current state of affairs of the Netherlands in solvency law. The reader is offered not only the black letter law, but also impar tial discussions presenting differing views on particular aspects of the insolvency law. Furthermore, Netherlands Insolvency Law briefly addresses recent develop ments such as the EU Insolvency Regulation and the progress made on the ongo ing total revision of the Netherlands Bankruptcy Act in the "Marktwerking, Deregulering en Wetgevingskwaliteit (MDW)"-project. Declercq has successfully managed to strike such a balance that, on the one hand, the book offers the reader more than an average introduction, while on the other hand, it is not weighed down in a quagmire of technical detail. Declercq's experi ence and international exposure as an insolvency lawyer in one of the most repu table law fmns in the Netherlands has probably contributed in this respect. Netherlands Insolvency Law promises to become a standard textbook to a wide ranging audience. ANTONIUS I. M. vAN MIERLO ProfessorofLaw Erasmus University Rotterdam January 2002 VII TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface V Abbreviations XIII Introduction XVII CHAPTER 1 - THE NETHERLANDS BANKRUPTCY ACT 1."