Restructuring and Insolvency Project

About the Restructuring and Insolvency Project

The Permanent Bureau (PB) cooperates with the Secretariats of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and the International Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT) on insolvency-related projects. Subject to available resources, the PB also continues to monitor developments with respect to private international law (PIL) issues in insolvency and restructuring, including issues relating to the treatment of digital transactions and digital assets in insolvency and restructuring proceedings.

On 11 December 2020, the PB jointly organised the Colloquium on Applicable Law in Insolvency Proceedings with the Secretariat of UNCITRAL. The Colloquium examined issues relating to applicable law in insolvency proceedings and the practical implications of applicable law in cross-border insolvency. Since 2021, the PB has consistently participated as an observer in UNCITRAL Working Group V. Recent sessions of UNCITRAL WG V have examined draft international frameworks on civil asset tracing and recovery in insolvency proceedings, and applicable law in insolvency proceedings.

The PB and the UNCITRAL Secretariat have also noted the growing importance of restructuring proceedings (in some jurisdictions, termed “pre-insolvency proceedings”), particularly as distinct approaches to PIL questions may be needed in light of the policy and macroeconomic considerations that surround restructuring and pre-insolvency proceedings.

Cooperation with UNCITRAL on matters relating to insolvency formally started in 2003, with UNCITRAL’s invitation to the HCCH to assist it in preparing commentaries and recommended legislative principles in relation to the law applicable to insolvency proceedings. The UNCITRAL Legislative Guide on Insolvency Law, developed in coordination with the PB, was adopted in June 2004.

Mandate

In March 2024, the Council on General Affairs and Policy of the HCCH (CGAP) adopted Conclusion and Decision (C&D) Nos 13-15: 

13. CGAP welcomed the cooperation between the PB and the UNCITRAL Secretariat on matters relating to applicable law in insolvency proceedings, and to civil asset tracing and recovery in insolvency proceedings, and mandated the PB to continue contributing to UNCITRAL’s work on this topic. […]

14. Subject to available resources, CGAP encouraged the PB to continue cooperation with the UNCITRAL and UNIDROIT Secretariats on insolvency-related projects.

15. Subject to available resources, CGAP also mandated the PB to continue to monitor developments with respect to PIL issues in insolvency and restructuring, including issues relating to the treatment of digital transactions and digital assets in insolvency and restructuring proceedings. The PB will report to CGAP 2025. 
Key documents of the Restructuring and Insolvency Project