Aldricus

Si terrà il 25 e il 26 settembre 2015 a San Ginesio (Macerata) il tradizionale incontro dei dottorandi di ricerca in diritto internazionale, diritto internazionale privato e diritto dell’Unione europea organizzato dalla Società Italiana di Diritto internazionale in collaborazione con il Centro Internazionale di Studi Gentiliani.

L’iniziativa intende offrire ai dottorandi iscritti al secondo anno la possibilità di presentare i risultati provvisori delle ricerche condotte, promuovendo altresì la discussione sui temi affrontati.

Il Centro Internazionale di Studi Gentiliani si farà carico delle spese di vitto e alloggio dei dottorandi-relatori.

Il modulo di iscrizione – disponibile, unitamente ad ulteriori informazioni, a questo indirizzo – dovrà essere spedito a info@sidi-isil.org entro il 27 luglio 2015.

The Annual Conference on European Family Law of the Academy of European Law (ERA) will take place in Trier on 24 and 25 September 2015.

The conference will address, among others, issues regarding marital property regimes, the protection of vulnerable adults and prospects of review of regulation No 2201/2003 on jurisdiction and the recognition and enforcement of judgments in matrimonial matters and matters of parental responsibility (Brussels IIa).

Speakers include Maja Groff (Permanent Bureau of the Hague Conference on Private International Law), Peter Mankowski (Univ. Hamburg) and Patrick Wautelet (Univ. Liège).

The conference program is available here. Information regarding fees and registration can be found here.

La Commissione europea ha recentemente affidato ad un Consorzio composto dall’Università di Firenze, dall’Università di Uppsala e da DMI, una società di consulenza francese, uno studio riguardante le notifiche negli Stati Membri dell’Unione.

Tale studio, focalizzandosi sulle notifiche interne, si propone di appurare le differenze che esistono tra le discipline nazionali e che possono costituire un ostacolo al corretto funzionamento del regolamento n. 1393/2007 relativo alla notificazione e alla comunicazione negli Stati membri degli atti giudiziari ed extragiudiziali in materia civile o commerciale.

A questo proposito, esponenti delle professioni  legali e dell’accademia degli Stati Membri sono invitati a compilare un questionario online entro il 15 luglio 2015.

Ulteriori informazioni sul progetto e sulle modalità di partecipazione sono reperibili a questo indirizzo.

Il Centro di Studi Giuridici Europei dell’Università di Urbino “Carlo Bo” organizza, in collaborazione con l’Istituto svizzero di diritto comparato, il 57ème Séminaire de Droit Comparé et Européen.

L’iniziativa, che si svolgerà tra il 17 e 29 agosto 2015 ad Urbino, vedrà succedersi lezioni e conferenze, oltre agli interventi di notai italiani e lussemburghesi.

Questo il programma delle lezioni: Marie-Elodie Ancel (Univ. Paris-Est Créteil, Paris XII), Œuvres des arts appliqués: emprise et limites du principe européen de nondiscrimination; Eleonora Ballarino (Foro di Milano),  Law and practice in International Contract Law: Case studies in Oil & Gas Contracts; Francesca Bologna (Foro di Venezia), La protection des données personnelles en France et en Italie à l’aune du droit européen; Robert Bray (Parlamento europeo), L’immunità parlamentare a livello europeo; Georges Cavalier (Univ. Jean Moulin, Lyon 3), Comparative and European taxation. Comparative tax incentives for research & Development (R&D); Tuto Rossi (Univ. Friburgo), Contratti complessi in diritto internazionale privato; Martin Svatoš (FORARB Arbitration), Les questions contemporaines dans le domaine de l’arbitrage international: L’interaction avec la médiation et autres MARC; Chris Tomale (Univ. Heidelberg), A la recherche d’une coordination des compétences universelles civiles entre l’Union européenne et les Etats tiers.

Le conferenze vedranno gli interventi di:  Alessandro Bondi (Univ. Urbino), Le droit pénal européen 2.0; Andrea Giussani (Univ. Urbino) La direttiva sulle azioni di risarcimento del danno antitrust; Luigi Mari (Univ. Urbino), Il diritto internazionale privato sammarinese; Alexander R. Markus (Univ. Berna), Le Règlement Bruxelles I bis et la Convention de Lugano; Paolo Morozzo della Rocca (Univ. Urbino), La filiazione tra bilanciamento dei diritti e ordine pubblico; Cyril Nourissat  (Univ. Jean Moulin, Lyon 3), Le 17 août 2015: une révolution pour les successions internationales?; Ilaria Pretelli (Ist. Svizzero di diritto comparato), Le misure provvisorie nella rifusione del regolamento Bruxelles I.

A chiudere il seminario sono previsti gli interventi, sul tema dell’attività notarile in Europa, dei notai Paolo Pasqualis (Fondazione Italiana del Notariato), Elisabetta Bergamini (Univ. Udine) e Corrado Malberti (Univ. Lussemburgo).

Le iscrizioni, aperte sino al 1° agosto 2015 dovranno essere inoltrate all’indirizzo email seminaire@uniurb.it inviando la domanda compilata e sottoscritta reperibile qui.

Maggiori informazioni sono disponibili a questo indirizzo. Il flyer dell’iniziativa è qui consultabile.

Si svolgerà a Monaco di Baviera, il 23 giugno 2015, un incontro di studio dal titolo The EU Regulation no. 650/2012: the European way in cross-border successions.

L’evento si colloca nella cornice del progetto Towards the Entry into Force of the Succession Regulation: Building Future Uniformity upon Past Divergencies, coordinato dall’Università di Milano e finanziato dall’Unione europea.

Interverranno, fra gli altri, Peter Kindler (Univ. Ludwig Maximilan, Monaco), Ilaria Viarengo (Univ. Milano), Dan Andrei Popescu (Univ. Babeş-Bolyai, Cluj) e Francesco Pesce (Univ. Genova).

Maggiori informazioni a questo indirizzo.

On 11 June 2015, the European Union deposited its instrument of approval of the Hague Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements.

Two declarations are appended to the instrument of approval: a declaration under Article 30 (i.e. a declaration regarding the competences exercised by a Regional Economic Integration Organisation, to be made when such an Organisation accedes to the Convention without its Member States), and a declaration regarding the succession of the European Union to the European Community.

The move of the European Union paves the way to the entry into force of the Convention. Pursuant to Article 31(1), the Convention shall in fact “enter into force on the first day of the month following the expiration of three months after the deposit of the second instrument of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession”. The first of these instruments was the instrument of ratification deposited by Mexico in 2007.

The Convention will thus enter into force for Mexico and the European Union on 1 October 2015.

La Camera dei Deputati ha approvato in via definitiva, l’11 giugno 2015, il disegno di legge di legge che prevede l’autorizzazione alla ratifica della Convenzione sulla competenza, la legge applicabile, l’efficacia delle decisioni e la cooperazione in materia di responsabilità genitoriale e di misure di protezione dei minori, fatta all’Aja il 19 ottobre 1996, nonché l’esecuzione della Convenzione nell’ordinamento italiano (sull’iter del provvedimento, si veda da ultimo questo post).

Il voto dell’aula interviene a pochi giorni di distanza dalla seduta delle commissioni riunite Giustizia e Affari esteri, svoltasi il 4 giugno 2015, nel corso della quale è emerso l’orientamento di procedere senza ulteriori indugi all’approvazione del testo sortito dal Senato, risultante dallo stralcio delle norme di adattamento ordinario e di integrazione del diritto interno ivi previste (atto Camera 1589-B), salva “la necessità che da parte del Governo venga assunto un impegno concreto affinché l’eventuale approvazione del testo trasmesso dal Senato sia accompagnata da una futura ma non lontana approvazione del disegno di legge che contiene le norme di attuazione interna”.

Michel José Reymond, La compétence internationale en cas d’atteinte à la personnalité par Internet, Schulthess, 2015, ISBN 9783725585328, pp. 387, Euro 82,10.

[Dal sito dell’editore] Quel tribunal est compétent pour juger d’un cas d’atteinte à la personnalité commise sur le réseau Internet? Le cas échéant, quel droit sera applicable? Avec en toile de fond la rencontre entre la territorialité des principes du droit international privé et l’ubiquité du réseau Internet, ce travail présente, compare et analyse les différentes approches qu’ont adoptées les juges confrontés à cette problématique; il aboutit sur une proposition permettant, pour ce qui concerne la compétence, de mieux prendre en compte les caractéristiques de la publication par Internet. Il met également le doigt sur les difficultés ressenties par le législateur communautaire à résoudre la question du droit applicable à ces atteintes, et examine à cet effet plusieurs des règles de conflit proposées lors de ses travaux.

Il sommario è disponibile qui. Ulteriori informazioni a questo indirizzo.

Si terrà a Roma l’11 settembre 2015 un incontro dal titolo Towards a transnational approach for choice-of-law clauses.

L’evento è organizzato organizzato dal Comitato Nazionale italiano della Camera di Commercio Internazionale e dall’Associazione Italiana per l’Arbitrato.

Tra i relatori, Massimo Benedettelli (Univ. Bari), Piero Bernardini (Associazione Italiana per l’Arbitrato), Fabio Bortolotti (Buffa, Bortolotti e Mathis), Andrea Carlevaris (Corte Internazionale di Arbitrato), Filip De Ly (Erasmus Univ.), Maria Beatrice Deli (Univ. Molise e Comitato Nazionale italiano della Camera di Commercio Internazionale), Yves Derains (Derains & Gharavi), José Angelo Estrella Faria (Unidroit), Franco Ferrari (Univ. Verona e New York Univ.), Marcel Fontaine (Univ. Catholique de Louvain), Luca Radicati di Brozolo (Univ. Cattolica di Milano), Anna Veneziano (Unidroit).

Il programma completo può leggersi qui, assieme alle informazioni relative all’iscrizione.

Il sequestro europeo di conti bancari – Regolamento (UE) n. 655/2014 del 15 maggio 2014, a cura di Pietro Franzina e Antonio Leandro, con scritti di Pietro Franzina, Lidia Sandrini, Elena D’Alessandro e Antonio Leandro e prefazione di Fausto Pocar, Giuffrè, 2015, pp. XIV+186, ISBN 9788814207235, Euro 22.

[Dal sito dell’editore] L’Unione europea si è posta l’obiettivo di assicurare un’efficace tutela del credito nelle situazioni a carattere internazionale. Il regolamento (UE) n. 655/2014, applicabile dal 18 gennaio 2017, viene ad integrare gli strumenti rivolti a questo scopo dando vita ad un’ordinanza europea di sequestro conservativo dei conti bancari (OESC). L’innovativo provvedimento, reso dal giudice nazionale competente per il merito all’esito di una procedura uniforme semplificata e non contraddittoria, potrà essere fatto valere, senza bisogno di exequatur, in tutti gli Stati membri dell’Unione vincolati dal regolamento. In pratica, il creditore di una somma di denaro – sia esso un’impresa, un consumatore oppure una persona fisica a cui sia dovuta una prestazione alimentare – disporrà di uno strumento particolarmente agevole per aggredire in via cautelare, ovunque in Europa, gli averi bancari del debitore. Questo volume si propone di fornire una prima lettura del regolamento, analizzando in particolare, nella prospettiva della attuazione delle nuove norme in Italia, le questioni suscettibili di insorgere nell’ambito del procedimento per il rilascio dell’OESC, quelle riguardanti la tutela assicurata tanto al debitore quanto ai terzi e quelle relative alla circolazione dell’OESC in seno allo spazio giudiziario europeo. 

Il sommario del volume si può scaricare a questo indirizzo.

Maggiori informazioni sono disponibili qui.

Si svolgerà a Firenze il 5 giugno 2015, organizzato dal locale Consiglio notarile, un convegno dal titolo Profili di diritto internazionale dell’attività notarile. Si parlerà di successioni, regimi patrimoniali e maggiorenni vulnerabili.

Tra i relatori, Jacopo Re (Univ. Milano), Franco Salerno Cardillo (notaio in Palermo) e Daniele Muritano (notaio in Empoli).

Maggiori informazioni a questo indirizzo.

Isidoro Antonio Calvo Vidal, El certificado sucesorio europeo, La Ley, 2015, ISBN 9788490204108, pp. 364, Euro 42,93.

[Dal sito dell’editore] A partir de la fecha de su aplicación plena, el 17 de agosto de 2015, el Reglamento (UE) nº 650/2012 del Parlamento Europeo y del Consejo de 4 de julio de 2012 relativo a la competencia, la ley aplicable, el reconocimiento y la ejecución de las resoluciones, a la aceptación y la ejecución de los documentos públicos en materia de sucesiones mortis causa y a la creación de un certificado sucesorio europeo, determina el nuevo marco de las sucesiones internacionales en la Unión Europea, constituyendo un hito de especial relieve en la construcción de la Europa de los ciudadanos. El Reglamento incide directamente en la aplicación del derecho de sucesiones en los Estados miembros, tanto a la hora de abordar una planificación sucesoria, a través del otorgamiento del testamento o de otra disposición mortis causa, como al tiempo de llevar a cabo el desenvolvimiento de una sucesión ya causada. En España supone además la incorporación de novedades tan importantes como la posibilidad de la elección de la ley aplicable a la sucesión o la fijación de la residencia habitual como punto de conexión subsidiario en orden a la determinación de la misma. Pero es el certificado sucesorio europeo, el nuevo «pasaporte» de los herederos en Europa, el que puede considerarse como uno de los logros más importantes del nuevo instrumento comunitario, al permitir a herederos, legatarios, ejecutores testamentarios o administradores de la herencia probar fácilmente su cualidad, así como ejercer los derechos o las facultades respectivas, en los Estados miembros. A partir de estas consideraciones, esta monografía ofrece al lector, desde la reflexión teórica y la visión práctica de su autor, un acercamiento a los principales elementos que van a regir el inmediato tratamiento de las sucesiones transfronterizas en la Unión Europea.

Maggiori informazioni a questo indirizzo.

On 8 and 9 October 2015, the Academy of European Law (ERA) will host a conference entitled How to Handle International Commercial Cases.

The conference aims to cast light on the latest developments regarding commercial dispute resolution. It will focus on the recent case law in the area of European civil procedure and on the forthcoming changes in the field of EU private international law. This last topic will be devoted, in particular, to the imminent entry into force of the Hague Convention of 30 June 2005 on Choice of Court Agreements, the recast of the EU Insolvency Regulation, the revision of the European Small Claims Procedure, and Regulation No 655/2014 establishing a European Account Preservation Order procedure.

Further information on the conference available here.

The programme of the 10th Annual Conference of the Journal of Private International Law, which will take in place in Cambridge from 3 to 5 September 2015, is available here.

As in the previous editions, there will be a plenary session (on 4 September) and a number of panels devoted to specific issues (Family, Tort, Internet, Succession, Arbitration, Theory, Enforcement of judgments, Contracts, Practice, Insolvency, Jurisdiction).

For more information, click here.

Benjamin Mathieu, Directives européennes et conflits de lois, LGDJ, 2015, ISBN 9782275046389, pp. 382, Euro 45.

[Dal sito dell’editore] La construction du marché intérieur – et les libertés de circulation qu’il garantit – conduit l’Union européenne à réglementer les relations transfrontières de droit privé. Le droit européen investit, de ce fait, le terrain du droit international privé. Le droit dérivé en général, vecteur de l’intégration juridique des États membres, est ainsi la source d’un nombre croissant de dispositions de droit international privé. Les instruments conflictuels y sont placés au service de la construction européenne et voient ainsi leur finalité séculaire redéfinie. Les directives européennes en particulier, normes « à deux étages », ajoute à cette réorientation une difficulté particulière tenant à son mode d’élaboration. La présente étude se propose d’expliquer l’influence des directives sur le conflit de lois à travers le prisme des méthodes du droit international privé. Elle tend à montrer qu’un double mouvement d’influence réciproque caractérise les relations entre ces textes et ces méthodes. La réception des méthodes traditionnelles par les directives provoque une série de perturbations susceptibles de renouveler leur analyse classique. Inversement, des procédés nouveaux, issus de la construction du marché intérieur et présents au sein des directives, enrichissent la théorie du droit international privé. Cette analyse permet de mettre en lumière la diversité des méthodes de droit international privé contenues dans les directives européennes.

Maggiori informazioni a questo indirizzo.

Antonio Leandro, the author of this post, teaches International Law at the University of Bari.

On 20 May 2015 the European Parliament approved the new European Insolvency Regulation (EIR) in the text adopted by the Council at first reading on 12 March (publication on the Official Journal is expected to follow soon) [Update: the Regulation has been published on the Official Journal of the European Union of 5 June 2015, as Regulation (EU) 2015/848 of 20 May 2015 on insolvency proceedings]. This marks the end of a revision process which started with the Commission proposal of 12 December 2012 (COM/2012/744 final).

The primary aim of the revision was to improve the operation of the EIR with a view to ensuring a smooth functioning of the internal market and its resilience in economic crises, having regard to national insolvency laws and to the case law of the ECJ on the “old” Insolvency Regulation, i.e. Regulation No 1346/2000 (the relevant ECJ judgments include: Susanne Staubitz-Schreiber [2006]; Eurofood IFSC [2006]; Deko Marty Belgium [2009]; SCT Industri [2009]; German Graphics [2009]; MG Probud [2010]; Interedil [2011]; Zaza Retail [2011]; Rastelli Davide [2011]; F-Tex SIA [2012]; ERSTE Bank Hungary [2012]; Ulf Kazimierz Radziejewski [2012]; Bank Handlowy [2012]; Grontimmo [2013]; Meliha Veli Mustafa [2013]; Ralph Schmid [2014]; Burgo Group [2014]; Nickel & Goeldner Spedition [2014]; H [2014]).

In short, the revised text: (a) extends the EIR’s scope to proceedings aimed at giving the debtor a “second chance”; (b) strengthens the current jurisdictional framework in terms of certainty and clarity; (c) improves the coordination among insolvency proceedings opened in respect of the same debtor and strikes a better balance between efficient insolvency administration and protection of local creditors; (d) reinforces the publicity of the proceedings by compelling Member States to provide for insolvency registers and by providing for the interconnection of national registers; (e) deals with the management of multiple insolvency proceedings relating to groups of companies.

The new EIR will enter into force following its publication in the Official Journal, but the bulk of its provisions will only apply in 2017.

A broader scope

Opening the EIR to collective rescue and restructuring proceedings, to proceedings which leave the debtor fully or partially in control of its assets and affairs and to proceedings providing for a debt discharge or a debt adjustment in relation to consumers and self-employed persons as well as to interim proceedings, means that the appointment of a “liquidator” and the debtor’s divestment are no more grounds of the EIR’s applicability.

The difference between “all-creditors-including” and “not-all-creditors-including” proceedings has been implicitly upheld. However, Recital 14 clarifies that proceedings not including all the creditors should be proceedings aimed at rescuing the debtor, while those leading to a definitive cessation of the debtor’s activities or to the liquidation of the debtor’s assets should include all the creditors.

Annex A lists the proceedings at stake: national insolvency procedures not listed fall out of the scope of the Regulation. In doing so, Annex A provides – as the ECJ held in Ulf Kazimierz Radziejewski (§§ 23-24) and Meliha Veli Mustafa (§ 36) – a clear-cut confine of the EIR’s scope.

Moreover, the extension to proceedings whose purpose is not liquidation has led to replacing the term “liquidator” with “insolvency practitioner”, so as to include a broader range of tasks in connection with the administration of the debtor’s affairs. Annex B lists the relevant insolvency practitioners based on national laws.

Hereinafter, we will refer to the insolvency practitioner appointed in the main proceedings as the “main insolvency practitioner” and to the one appointed in secondary proceedings as the “secondary insolvency practitioner”.

The innovations regarding jurisdiction

Some Recitals inspired by Eurofood and Interedil have been inserted in the new EIR to clarify the concept of “centre of main interests” (COMI).

It is now stated that the COMI of individuals is to be found – presumptively – in their “principal place of business”, if they are independent businessmen or professional providers, or in their habitual residence, in all other cases (Article 3(1)).

In order to avoid fraudulent or abusive forum shopping practices, these presumptions will only apply if the registered office/principal place of business/habitual residence have not been transferred to another Member State within a given period prior to the request for the opening of the insolvency proceedings.

The court requested to open the proceedings will rule on jurisdiction of its own motion, and specify in the judgment on which ground it retained jurisdiction (Article 4).

Vis attractiva over “ancillary” proceedings is now codified in Article 6. Moreover, should the “ancillary” action be related with another action based on civil and commercial law, then the insolvency practitioner is entitled to bring both claims in the court of the defendant’s domicile or, in the case of several defendants, in the court of the Member State where any of them is domiciled, provided that such court has jurisdiction under the Brussels I Regulation (recast).

Coordination of proceedings

The new EIR improves the coordination among insolvency proceedings opened against the same debtor, and attempts to strike a better balance between efficient insolvency administration and protection of local creditors.

In particular, it makes the opening of secondary proceedings conditional upon both the interests of local creditors and the objectives of the main proceedings, and accordingly, strengthens the main insolvency practitioner’s role in this regard.

The court of the establishment will be enabled, on request of the main insolvency practitioner, to refuse or to postpone the opening of secondary proceedings whenever this is not necessary to protect the interest of local creditors.

When ruling on a request for opening brought by local creditors, the court of the establishment should give the main insolvency practitioner the opportunity to be heard before deciding (Article 38). The main insolvency practitioner will have the opportunity to apply for refusal or postponement of the opening of secondary proceedings, while the court of the establishment will be in a position to be aware of any rescue or reorganization options explored by the main insolvency practitioner, so as to properly assess the consequences of the opening.

Based on these and other elements, the court may refuse the opening or opt for proceedings not involving the winding-up of the debtor. This differs from the current regime, which allows for the alternative proceedings option only for territorial proceedings, i.e. prior to the opening of main proceedings.

In line with this new broadened role in evaluating the impact of secondary proceedings upon the centralized rescue or the estate administration, the main insolvency practitioner will be entitled to challenge the decision whereby secondary proceedings are opened.

As regards the protection of local creditors, in order to avoid the opening of secondary proceedings, the main insolvency practitioner may undertake within the main proceedings, in respect of assets located in the Member State of the establishment, ‘that he will comply with the distribution and priority rights under national law that [they] would have if secondary proceedings were opened’ (Article 36(1)). This undertaking should remove the local creditors’ concern over seeing themselves deprived of interests and preferential rights based on the local lex concursus by the opening of the sole main proceedings and by the applicability of the COMI’s lex concursus. At the same time, it will avoid the opening of secondary proceedings that may adversely affect the outcome of the main insolvency proceedings, in particular where the latter are aimed at rescue and restructuring.

In this respect, the new EIR draws inspiration from the “synthetic secondary proceedings”.

If secondary proceedings are opened or the request of opening is still pending, the new EIR extends the duty to cooperate both to the courts involved and between courts and insolvency practitioners (Articles 41-43).

Courts and insolvency practitioners are also required to take account of principles and guidelines adopted by European and international organizations active in the area of insolvency law, including the UNCITRAL guidelines (Recital 48). For instance, the courts may coordinate with each other to appoint the insolvency practitioners, while courts and insolvency practitioners may enter into protocols and agreements to facilitate cross-border cooperation and to coordinate the administration and supervision of the debtor’s assets and affairs.

Publishing insolvency information

Member States are required to establish publicly accessible electronic registers that contain information on cross-border cases (Article 24). All national registers will be interconnected with each other through the European e-Justice portal (Article 25).

This mandatory regime is meant to safeguard the foreign creditors’ right to lodge claims and prevent the opening of parallel proceedings. As for the foreign creditors – i.e. those having their habitual residence, domicile or registered office in a Member State other than the State of the proceedings, including the tax authorities and social security authorities of Member States: Article 2(12) –, their right to lodge claims will be facilitated by using a standard form to be established in an implementing act of the Commission.

Certain protective rules concerning the personal data have been inserted on account of the fact that, as noted above, the new Regulation will also apply to proceedings opened against persons who do not carry out an independent business or professional activity: see Articles 78-83. Having these cases in mind, Recital 80 strikes a balance with the creditors’ right to lodge the claims by calling Member States to ensure both that the relevant information is given to creditors by individual notice and that claims of creditors who have not received the information are not affected by the proceedings.

Groups of companies

The revision also addresses the management of multiple insolvency proceedings relating to groups of companies, introducing a specific Chapter (V). This strives to ensure the efficiency of the insolvency administration, whilst respecting each group member’s separate legal personality.

In this regard, the new EIR draws inspiration from the UNCITRAL Model Law and related Legislative and Practice Guides.

Firstly, should more proceedings be opened in different Member States, the new EIR requires all the actors involved (insolvency practitioners and courts) to comply with the duties of cooperation and communication applicable when main and secondary insolvency proceedings are opened against the same debtor (Chapter V, Section 1).

An important innovation is that an insolvency practitioner is now allowed to request the opening of a “group coordination proceeding”, which should further facilitate, in particular, the restructuring of groups (Chapter V, Section 2). The participation of the other insolvency practitioners (hence, the other proceedings) rests on a voluntary basis.

A “coordinator” will be appointed to propose and implement the coordination plan (Articles 71-72).

All the advantages of the “coordination proceedings” should be worth the costs. In other words, the costs of the coordination should be sustainable and adequate having regard to the purpose of each proceedings involved.

The introduction of groups-of-companies oriented rules will not prevent a court from opening insolvency proceedings for several companies in a single State if the court finds a common COMI therein (Recital 53).

What about the applicable law?

The revision only marginally addresses the issue of applicable law.

However, Article 11(2) and Article 13(2) of the new texts are noteworthy in this respect, in that they manage, as regards contracts relating to immovable property and contracts of employment, the effects of the insolvency stemming from the (local) lex contractus when the insolvency being handled abroad in the main proceedings.

Article 18 extends to pending arbitration proceedings the existing rule whereby the effects of insolvency proceedings on a pending lawsuit concerning assets or rights included in the debtor’s insolvency estate must be governed by the law of the Member State where the lawsuit is pending (the law of the seat of the arbitration will apply).

Finally, all the rules whose functioning depends on the concept of “Member State in which assets are situated” will benefit from the broader and more detailed definition provided by Article 2(9), which refers, among other “assets”, to registered shares in companies, financial instruments, cash held in credit institutions accounts and copyrights.