Published on 22 November 2016, the initial version of the Directive proposal contains a number of provisions in three distinct main parts, namely preventive restructuring frameworks (Title II), second chance for entrepreneurs (Title III) and measures to raise the efficiency of restructuring, insolvency and second chance (Title IV).

The other titles are horizontal in scope, for example, Title I contains a provision on the availability of early warning tools for debtors, be they legal or natural persons engaged in a trade, business or professional activity (entrepreneurs).

I would like to update you regarding some of INSOL Europe projects; our collaboration with AIJA, with DAV, the INSOL Europe local country directors and the 2018 Annual Congress, which will take place in Athens, Greece from 4-7 October.

UNCITRAL’s Working Group V(Insolvency Law), at its 53rd session in New York, has just completed work on the model law on recognition and enforcement of insolvency-related judgments (‘JudgmentsML’). The Judgments ML, together with a draft guide to enactment, will be submitted to the UNCITRAL Commission for finalisation and adoption within the year.If adopted, Member States will be invited to incorporate the Judgments ML into their national laws in order to harmonise cross-border enforcement and recognition of insolvency-related judgments.

The much talked-of Decree No.8 “On the Development of Digital Economy” has been in effect since March 28 of this year (further referred to as the “Decree”). Among other things, it is aimed at the creation of conditions for implementing the Blockchain technology in the Belarusian economy and it secures the terms of Blockchain itself in the legal environment of Belarus (smart contract, token, owner and offering of tokens), and it introduces the definitions of crypto-currency, its operator and the operator of its exchange, the e-wallet, mining etc.

In the last few decades the promotion of a corporate rescue culture has been a key objective for many EU jurisdictions, but particularly since the 2008 financial crisis, corporate rescue has been at the top of the agenda. Although the significance of corporate rescue is not to be underestimated, it can be argued that consumer bankruptcy carries no less significance. The adverse impact of consumer bankruptcy has been intensely experienced at very large scales in countries like Greece and Cyprus.

The Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data, and repealing Directive 95/46/EC (General Data Protection Regulation) applies since 25 May 20181.

In the digital age, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) was designed to harmonise data privacy laws across Europe, to protect and empower all EU citizens’ data privacy and to reshape the way organisations across the European Union (EU) approach data privacy.

Like its predecessor, the European Insolvency Regulation (Recast) (hereafter ‘EIR (recast)’) sets out rules to (among others) establish which court has jurisdiction to open a crossborder insolvency case. In terms of ‘jurisdiction’, main insolvency proceedings still take place before the courts of the European Member States where the debtors’ centre of main interests (‘COMI’) are situated.

First launched in 2011 at the INSOL Europe Annual Conference, the INSOL Europe European Insolvency Regulation Case Register is a database that summarises cases from first instance and appeal courts of Member States of the European Union, as well as the CJEU, that deal with a significant point relating to the European Insolvency Regulation (both Regulation EC 1346/2000 and Regulation EU 2015/848). It is an internet-based system within which information on court decisions and judgments relating to the European Insolvency Regulation (‘EIR’) is collected and disseminated.