Insolvency And Restructuring Law In Central Eastern Europe

This edited volume is based on the European Law Institute's (ELI) project 'Rescue of Business in Insolvency Law'. The project ran from 2013 to 2017 under the auspices of the ELI and was conducted by Bob Wessels and Stephan Madaus, who were assisted by Gert-Jan Boon. The study sought to design (elements of) a legal framework that will enable the further development of coherent and functional rules for business rescue in Europe. This includes certain statutory procedures that could better enable parties to negotiate solutions where a business becomes financially distressed. Such a framework also includes rules to determine in which procedures and under which conditions an enforceable solution can be imposed upon creditors and other stakeholders despite their lack of consent. The project had a broad scope, and extended to consider frameworks that can be used by (non-financial) businesses out of court, and in a pre-insolvency context. Part I of this book, the ELI Instrument as approved by the ELI Council and General Assembly, features 115 recommendations on a wide variety of themes affected by the rescue of financially distressed businesses, such as the legal rules for professions and courts, treatment and ranking of creditors' claims, contract, corporate and labour law as well as laws relating to transaction avoidance. Part II consists of national reports that sketch the legal landscape in 13 States and of an 'Inventory Report on International Recommendations from Standard-Setting Organisations', both of which provided insight for the drafting of the Instrument. This volume is designed to assist those involved in a process of law reform and those setting standards for soft law in the business rescue context.

In the past decades, many Member States of the European Union have introduced important new legislation in the field of insolvency law. Principles of European Insolvency Law tries to capture the common elements that national insolvency laws share and that make up the essence of insolvency proceedings in Europe. It makes a first, and, so far, unique attempt, to tackle an area of law which is of great commercial importance, but in which some might have thought it was too difficult to detect a European approach. Principles of European Insolvency Law looks to a future of more European integration in areas of commercial law and practice. They may serve as working material for further study, which could result in proposals for legislation on a supranational level. In the shorter term, the Principles will be of use in efforts to modernise national insolvency laws by serving as a 'European framework'. Taking account of the Principles in drafting reform proposals can lead to a greater conformity of new national legislation with the essence of European insolvency law.

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.

In the European Union, the effectiveness of judicial protection granted to a business or consumer in crisis depends on the extent and manner in which court rulings in bankruptcy and restructuring cases are recognised in all Member States. This article-by-article commentary on Regulation (EU) 2015/848 provides expert guidance through the entire course of insolvency proceedings, clearly showing how to solve specific problems that arise in insolvency cases with a cross-border element, including aspects such as jurisdiction, applicable law, recognition and enforceability of judgments and coordination of group of companies’ insolvencies. For any party instituting an insolvency proceeding in an EU Member State, the commentary provides such detailed guidance as the following: identifying the appropriate internationally competent court for filing; terms pursuant to which a judgment can be recognised; duties of an insolvency practitioner (IP); IP’s authority in the territory of another state; IP’s obligations towards creditors in another state; rights of foreign creditors; admissibility of conducting secondary insolvency proceedings; conducting simultaneous insolvency proceedings against the same debtor; permissible forms of contact and cooperation between judges and parties to the proceedings; and conducting proceedings involving a group of companies. An important feature of the commentary highlights the standpoints of lawyers from Central and Eastern Europe, where the commercial judiciary operates in a distinctly different way from that in countries with a well-established market economy system. Interpretation of provisions of the Regulation by lawyers from this part of Europe enhances the scope of legal argument both in the economic sphere and in the sphere of justice. With its detailed and in-depth description of international jurisdiction, recognition, and universal and territorial effects of insolvency proceedings, this practical book will be welcomed by counsel to business persons conducting international activity, trustees in bankruptcy, tax advisers, court enforcement officers, academics dealing with insolvency law, banks dealing with the collection of receivables, and debt collection companies. In addition, as a contribution to the debate on the optimal model for the international consequences of insolvency proceedings, its discussion of issues related to national jurisdiction, bankruptcy and restructuring of groups of companies, and international judicial cooperation will be particularly valuable for researchers.

This edited volume is based on the European Law Institute's (ELI) project 'Rescue of Business in Insolvency Law'. The project ran from 2013 to 2017 under the auspices of the ELI and was conducted by Bob Wessels and Stephan Madaus, who were assisted by Gert-Jan Boon. The study sought to design (elements of) a legal framework that will enable the further development of coherent and functional rules for business rescue in Europe. This includes certain statutory procedures that could better enable parties to negotiate solutions where a business becomes financially distressed. Such a framework also includes rules to determine in which procedures and under which conditions an enforceable solution can be imposed upon creditors and other stakeholders despite their lack of consent. The project had a broad scope, and extended to consider frameworks that can be used by (non-financial) businesses out of court, and in a pre-insolvency context. Part I of this book, the ELI Instrument as approved by the ELI Council and General Assembly, features 115 recommendations on a wide variety of themes affected by the rescue of financially distressed businesses, such as the legal rules for professions and courts, treatment and ranking of creditors' claims, contract, corporate and labour law as well as laws relating to transaction avoidance. Part II consists of national reports that sketch the legal landscape in 13 States and of an 'Inventory Report on International Recommendations from Standard-Setting Organisations', both of which provided insight for the drafting of the Instrument. This volume is designed to assist those involved in a process of law reform and those setting standards for soft law in the business rescue context.

This Selected Issues paper examines social spending reform and fiscal savings in Slovenia. Rising expenditure has been at the root of Slovenia’s fiscal deterioration since the onset of the crisis. The paper explores reform options to reduce Slovenia’s social spending over the medium and long term. It discusses key features of the pension system, and analyzes the evolution of pension spending in the absence of reforms. The paper also examines the health and education spending and provides a framework to assess their efficiency relative to other countries.