WORKING GROUP V: INSOLVENCY

 

The Mandate

Working Group V has debated and considered issues in relation to international and cross-border insolvency law since at least 1995. During this time, the Working Group has produced several core documents, including the following:​

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Most recently, it produced the UNCITRAL Legislative Recommendations on Insolvency of Micro- and Small Enterprises (2021) being particularly relevant in the context of the impact of COVID-19 on small enterprises.

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Aside from insolvency law, the mandate of Working Group V has previously also included:

Recent projects

The three most recent projects have been the: 

 

UNCITRAL Model Law on Recognition and Enforcement of Insolvency-Related Judgments with Guide to Enactment (2018), dealing with the particular issues that arise when an insolvency related judgment is sought to be enforced in another jurisdiction;

 
UNCITRAL Model Law on Enterprise Group Insolvency (2019), which deals with the difficult issue of the insolvency of corporate groups across borders; and

 
UNCITRAL Legislative Recommendations on Insolvency of Micro- and Small Enterprises (2021), dealing with the need for insolvency regimes to deal with the particular issues of MSEs, in relation to both personal and corporate liabilities.  At the session on Vienna in December 2021, it was decided that the MSE Insolvency text would be published as Part V of the UNCITRAL Legislative Guide on Insolvency Law and also as a standalone text with publication anticipated later in 2022.

 

UNCCA representatives on behalf of LAWASIA have attended all the working group sessions that led to these outcomes, either in New York or Vienna, and more recently by way of online attendance. Senior insolvency lawyers, counsel and academics have led the attendances often with students attending through the UNLAWS Program. 
 

 

Australia

Australia adopted the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency by way of the Cross-Border Insolvency Act 2008 and around 50 countries have adopted it world-wide.  There is now a substantial jurisprudence on cross-border insolvency both under the Model Law and under the letters of request regimes maintained in Australia under s 29 Bankruptcy Act and s 581 Corporations Act. 

 

Australia is yet to consider the three more recent WGV model laws and guidance notes of UNCITRAL. UNCITRAL has issued these publications to assist member states:

 

Australia’s membership of UNCITRAL continues into 2022.

 
 

Civil Asset Tracing, and Applicable Law

Two further projects have been taken on by the Working Group.

 

These are:

  1. processes for tracing and recovering assets across borders; and

  2. the difficult private international law question of the applicable law in cross-border proceedings.  This follows a Colloquium on Applicable Law in Insolvency Proceedings held in Vienna on 11 December 2020.

 

These were decided upon at the WGV session in December 2021 and are to be discussed at the next WGV meeting scheduled for 18-22 April 2022 in New York. 

 

It is understood that there will also be another project to be considered by the Working Group.

 

UNCCA - Expert Advisory Committee 

The activities of WGV are monitored by the WGV Expert Advisory Committee of UNCCA, comprising these experienced Australian lawyers and academics:

 

  • Michael Murray - Chair

  • Vicki Bell

  • Scott Butler

  • Dr Neil Hannan

  • Stewart Maiden QC

  • John Martin

  • Adjunct Professor Rosalind Mason

  • Lee Pascoe

  • Assistant Professor Dr Casey Watters

  • Tony Ryan

  • Dr Robert Walters

 

The Committee Chair or other members of the committee can be contacted through UNCCA.

 

RESOURCES

UNCITRAL maintains its Case Law on UNCITRAL Texts (CLOUT), the national correspondent for Australia being Stewart Maiden QC.  Case Law on UNCITRAL Texts (CLOUT) | United Nations Commission On International Trade Law

In 2019, UNCCA held its annual UN Day Lectures on the topic "25 Years of Cross-Border Insolvency Law Reform". Both the Lectures and Commentary were presented by experts in the field of insolvency law.

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Below you can find some of the materials which were presented at the event.

The Lectures

"The past, present and future of UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross Border Insolvency and Australia’s participation"

By Professor Christopher Symes, University of Adelaide

UNCITRAL Resources, CBI Instruments, and Theory

By Adjunct Professor Rosalind Mason, Queensland University of Technology (QUT)

The Comity vs. CBI Framework Approaches: UNCITRAL Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow

By Adjunct Professor Michael Murray, QUT

Risk and Cost Reduction in Insolvency: UNCITRAL's Cross Border Framework

By Tim D. Castle, 6 St. James Chambers

Necessary Imperfections in Cross-Border Insolvency Law: Recent Case Law and Correction Attempts

By Stewart Maiden QC, Owen Dixon Chambers West

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The Commentary

The Model Law: Salient Features in Practice

By Scott Butler, McCullough Robertson

Insolvency in Tasmania: Relevance for Industry and Global Insolvencies

By Paul Cook, Former President of ARITA

Balancing the CBI Framework Domestically: Maritime Stays and Claims

By Dr. Neil Hannan, Thomson Geer

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All documents open as PDF files in a new tab

 

Titles have been assigned to those resources which did not already have one. 

 

Further Information

As with other Working Groups, WG V maintains an online record of its latest work and agendas for forthcoming meetings and colloquia. The relevant information is available at Working Group V: Insolvency Law | United Nations Commission On International Trade Law. 

 

This section of UNCCA’s website will be updated as necessary in light of further progress or announcements about Working Group V.

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February 2022.