The Modes of Matching of Insolvency Proceedings in International Comparison

Abstract

National laws—according to the extent of the given crisis—differentiate between restructuring and insolvency proceedings. The various decisions made by the economic players are influenced not only by specific insolvency laws, but also by the framework itself, i.e. the interconnection of restructuring and liquidation procedures themselves. By examining a number of insolvency systems within the EU, this paper is intended to prove that certain regularities can be detected among the different modes of matching that lend themselves to categorisation. Some of the countries under review have two-tier procedural frameworks, where restructuring and involuntary liquidation procedures are completely independent of one another. Others have single-tier insolvency procedural frameworks, the main characteristic of which is that the decision to restructure is an indispensable element of the proceedings in every case. Furthermore, the paper points out the existence of a procedural framework that has not been identified in other relevant publications as yet and which the author has termed a ‘standardising’ insolvency procedure.