International Insolvency Proceedings are special proceedings initiated against insolvent debtors where a certain international element is given, for instance, when an insolvent debtor operates and holds assets and has creditors in different countries. The appropriate regulation of these proceedings is crucial for increasing the efficiency of proceedings, the legal certainty of creditors and debtors, and the overall improvement of the economic situation on the market. In this regard, the adoption of such regulation which enables timely response and identification of signs of insolvency and their prevention is of the utmost importance.
At EU level, International Insolvency Proceedings are managed and coordinated according to the provisions of the Revised Insolvency Regulation 2015/848, which is directly applicable in Member States. The Revised Insolvency Regulation 2015/848 takes into account the case-law and the guidelines established on the basis of the previous Insolvency Regulation 1346/2000, while serving mainly as a procedural legal act. As such, it regulates mainly the procedural rules regarding the management of cross-border insolvency proceedings, defines insolvency proceedings and takes into account as such, also the pre-insolvency proceedings, the centre of the debtor’s main interests, jurisdiction over the main and secondary proceedings against the debtor, rules on cooperation between the participants in insolvency proceedings, determines the establishment of insolvency registers, lays down rules for the coordination of insolvency proceedings against members of a group of companies, and other. Dealing with particular proceedings, however, the Revised Insolvency Regulation 2015/848 relies largely on the principle of lex fori concursus, on the basis of which the law of the Member State in which the proceedings are instituted is applied, if not specified otherwise.
In addition to the normative solutions introduced by the Revised Insolvency Regulation 2015/848, the effectiveness of International Insolvency Proceedings shall be largely influenced by the expertise of participants, the development of case law, and in particular by timely cooperation between courts, insolvency practitioners, creditors and debtors.
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