Disclaimer: Currently these pages are being updated to reflect the courses for 2024 - 2025. Until these pages are fixed as per 1 September 2024 no rights can be claimed from the information which is currently contained within.
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 2024 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.
COURSE OBJECTIVES
The purpose of the course is to offer to students a theoretical and practical outline of international or cross-border restructuring and insolvency of companies.
Special Knowledge
By the end of the course a student should have a good, general insight into the major issues, theories and debates regarding legal topics in international corporate insolvency law. A student who has successfully completed the subject should further have become familiar with the structure and principles of UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-border Insolvency, EIR 2000 (EC 1346/2000) and EIR Recast (EU 2015/848), EU Directive on restructuring and insolvency (EU 2019/1023) and other relevant documents referred to in the course. A student will have knowledge of substantive principles of insolvency law and private international law in the context of international corporate insolvency and will have an insight in insolvency law from a civil law perspective with respect to various topics, such as directors’ liability and disqualification, avoidance actions, ranking of claims and order of priorities.Research abilities
A student is able to demonstrate its capacities in information seeking, its evaluation and retrieval. Besides, general analytical, problem-solving and practical skills will be developed and tested during the course. A student should be able to demonstrate a critical and independent view when confronted with legal issues in international insolvency, and to reach his or her own conclusions.Presentation of knowledge
A student should be able to understand, interpret and apply recent (draft-)legislation and regulation dealing with cross-border insolvency and restructuring to a given case and present the findings in a clear, readily understandable, methodical and logical manner in writing.Application of knowledge
A student will be able to apply the knowledge acquired in the course and use problem solving and analytical skills to a specific real or hypothetical situation, involving a given cross-border insolvency situation.
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 seminars.
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).