Disclaimer: Should there be any future extenuating circumstances which may impinge our teaching and assessment, these could necessitate modification of the course descriptions after 1 September. This will only happen in the event of strict necessity and the interests of the students will be taken into account. Should there be a need for any change during the course, this will be informed to all students on a timely basis. Modifications after 1 September 2023 may only be done with the approval and consent of the Faculty Board and Programme Director.
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The course on International Insolvency Law (IIL) aims to give students profound knowledge of and thorough insight in the legal theory and practice of restructuring and insolvency law in an international and comparative context. The importance of studying insolvency from an international perspective has increased significantly over the past decades, with increased global business activities which has also turned insolvency into an international affair. With creditors as well as a company’s assets being located in different jurisdictions, the cross-border context of restructuring and insolvency proceedings has to be addressed. The international setting in which debtors as well as creditors operate has added complexity to both restructuring or insolvency proceedings and the ways for creditors to make their claims effective.
The IIL course starts by exploring principles of (international) insolvency law, the main actors in restructuring an insolvency proceedings and the theoretical frameworks for dealing with cross-border insolvency proceedings. The understanding of these ‘insolvency basics’ creates the foundation for a more solid study of relevant legal frameworks on international (cross-border) insolvency law.
During the IIL course, the concepts of restructuring and insolvency will be studied in a broad sense. This includes out-of-court workouts, pre-packs, (pre-insolvency) restructuring, winding-up, but also bankruptcy. Emphasis will be placed on corporate debtors and the effectiveness of mechanisms for dealing with cross-border restructuring and insolvency proceedings at an international level. Furthermore, the course extends to ways in which corporate restructuring and insolvency is regulated, both by hard law as well as soft law instruments. The focus will be on the insolvency frameworks that have been developed by the United Nations Committee on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL), in particular, its Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (1997), as well as the European Union with its European Insolvency Regulation Recast (2015) and Preventive Restructuring Directive (2019). In addition, several other international (soft law) instruments on cross-border and substantive restructuring and insolvency law will be addressed during the course.
CONTACT
Programme Coordinator LLM (Adv) International Civil and Commercial Law
Office for International Education / Leiden Law School
E: iccl@law.leidenuniv.nl
COURSE COORDINATOR
Mr. Gert-Jan Boon LL.M MSc
T: +31 71 527 7939
j.m.g.j.boon@law.leidenuniv.nl
METHOD OF INSTRUCTION
Lectures and case studies (combined with online components if necessary).
EXAMINATION
Written exam (75%)
Written assignment (25%)
The overall course grade should be at least 5,5 in order to complete the course successfully.
There will be one retake (100%) substituting all previous assessments. It will be up to the discretion of the examiner to decide on the form of the retake.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
Full degree in law granting access to the legal profession (or equivalent).