International Insolvency

Hosted by the International and Legislation Committees In recent years, multiple jurisdictions have reformed or modernized their insolvency laws, either through incremental amendments or by entirely replacing the legislation. In this session, attendees will hear from practitioners from various jurisdictions about what motivated the decisions to amend their insolvency laws — and how the process unfolded in practice.

Insolvency practitioners from the U.S., Canada, the Caribbean and South America provide an overview of the most significant insolvency-related developments in their respective jurisdictions.

The recent insolvencies commenced by multiple shippers and oil and gas companies have raised several issues concerning the interplay of admiralty and insolvency law, especially in light of declining commodity prices and many shippers having either pulled their vessels out of service and/or decommissioned them. These issues include the adjudication of competing claims to assets that may be located either on the water, onboard the ships, or in containers, as well as the intersection of admiralty and insolvency law applicable to oil and gas insolvencies on the competing claims on the assets owned by these companies.

In an environment where business takes place largely without regard to borders, avoidance proceedings can catch suppliers off-guard. This panel will discuss the similarities and differences among local avoidance regimes and the challenges facing suppliers dealing across borders. The panel will also address the issues encountered in attempting to enforce cross-border avoidance judgments. The panelists will also examine the scope by which bankruptcy courts may (and may not) adjudicate avoidance actions under chapter 15, as well as how avoidance actions are administered pursuant to the European Insolvency Regulation and Canadian insolvency legislation.

This panel of judges and insolvency professionals from various jurisdictions will provide insight into inter-court communications and the challenges faced by judges dealing with cross-border insolvency proceedings. The panel will discuss the use of protocols, the American Law Institute’s Guidelines Application to Court-to-Court Communications in Cross Border Cases and more.

Among the many issues that need to be negotiated between England and the EU for the Brexit to happen is the one dealing with restructuring and insolvency law. The U.K. has in recent years — due to its common membership in the European Insolvency Regulation regime — turned into a hotspot for foreign companies (and individuals) wanting to avail themselves of the English legal infrastructure for their recoveries. This scheme of arrangement — the companies’ voluntary arrangement in combination with the U.K.'s enormously efficient court system — has become highly attractive, since the decisions of English courts are generally recognized automatically throughout Europe. Brexit might change this and deprive other countries of what is currently a huge advantage (and source of income). It is also unclear what will happen with all those contracts under which non-U.K. parties have subjected themselves to English law; Brexit’s implications on them are likely to create enormous problems. This panel will discuss these complicated issues and more.