The Insolvency Regulation is an

EU Regulation A regulation is a legal act of the European Union that becomes immediately enforceable as law in all member states simultaneously. Regulations can be distinguished from directives which, at least in principle, need to be transposed into nation ...

concerning the rules of jurisdiction for opening insolvency proceedings in the

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. It determines which member states' courts have jurisdiction.

History

EU member states concluded the Convention on Insolvency Proceedings in 1995, however it never entered into force as ratification by all member states was required and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

did not sign within the timelines specified in the Convention.

Content

The

EC Regulation A regulation is a legal act of the European Union that becomes immediately enforceable as law in all member states simultaneously. Regulations can be distinguished from directives which, at least in principle, need to be transposed into nation ...

on Insolvency Proceedings 2000 was passed on 29 May 2000 and came into effect on 31 May 2002. It replaced the substance of the 1995 Convention. The Regulation applies between all member states of the

, with the exception of

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which has an

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from the EU's

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, and focuses upon creating a framework for the commencement of proceedings and for the automatic recognition and co-operation between the different member states. Unusually for a European regulation, the EC Insolvency Regulation does not seek to harmonise insolvency laws between the different member states. Like the

UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency The UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency was a model law issued by the secretariat of UNCITRAL on 30 May 1997 to assist states in relation to the regulation of corporate insolvency and financial distress involving companies which have ...

, the EC Regulation also employs the concept of a centre of main interest (or "COMI"). The definition of the COMI is left to member states in their implementation of the Regulation, but paragraph (13) of the preamble states: 'The "centre of main interests" should correspond to the place where the debtor conducts the administration of his interests on a regular basis and is therefore ascertainable by third parties.' If the COMI of an entity is outside of the European Union then the insolvency proceedings are not subject to the Regulation. In relation to

companies A company, abbreviated as co., is a legal entity representing an association of people, whether natural, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common purpose and unite to achieve specific, declared go ...

there is a

presumption In the law of evidence, a presumption of a particular fact can be made without the aid of proof in some situations. The invocation of a presumption shifts the burden of proof from one party to the opposing party in a court trial. There are two ...

that the registered office will be the COMI of the company, but this presumption can be (and often is) rebutted. The EC Regulation does not define insolvency, but it does define insolvency proceedings as being 'collective insolvency proceedings which entail the partial or total divestment of a debtor and the appointment of a liquidator'. Article 3 divides proceedings into main proceedings and territorial proceedings. The main proceedings are accorded extraterritorial effect throughout the European Union. One of the concerns which has been expressed in relation to the EC Regulation is that (other than a reference to the European Court of Justice) there is no mechanism for determining which set of proceedings are to be regarded as the main proceedings if two or more jurisdictions claims that their own proceedings are the main proceedings. An amendment to the regulation was approved in 2015, which again applied to all EU member states except Denmark.

Notes

External links

Text of Insolvency Regulation (EC) 1346/2000

References

*I Fletcher, ''Insolvency in Private International Law'' (2006) ch 7 *CG Paulus, ''Europäische Insolvenzverordnung Kommentar'' (3rd edn 2011) {{DEFAULTSORT:Insolvency Regulation (EC) 1346 2000 Cross-border insolvency European Union regulations 1346/2000

History

Content

See also

Notes

External links

References