The office of an IP can only be held by an individual. When a company files a petition for insolvency, the court appoints an IP as a court examiner to decide if the company is in fact insolvent and whether the unencumbered assets of the debtor will be sufficient to cover the costs of the procedure. In larger cases, particularly where the business is ongoing, the court may appoint an IP as a court examiner and empower the IP with different levels of powers depending on the circumstances (provisional insolvency).

Since the beginning of 2011, creditors of and investors in German banks have faced a radically changed restructuring regime, whose impact on investor recoveries in a crisis may be significant. While at first glance the new framework seems to introduce proceedings similar to a U.S.

The “Sanierungsklausel “ was first adopted in July 2009 with a retroactive effect from 1 January 2008. For the time being only a temporary instrument to overcome the aftermath of the financial crises, the German lawmaker lifted the time limitation already in December 2009. The Commission learned all about this from the newspapers. A formal procedure was launched by the Commission in subsequence in February 2010. The “Sanierungsklausel” enables ailing companies to offset losses in a given year against profits in future years despite changes in its shareholder structure.

The European Union is still struggling to find a long-term strategy to deal with the crisis that has befallen its common currency. SPIEGEL spoke to Pimco CEO Mohamed El-Erian about how Greece can get back on its feet, the fine line Germany is treading and why the US, despite high debt, is in better shape. SPIEGEL: Mr. El-Erian, Pimco is the world's largest bond investor, with over $1 trillion in assets. A lot of that money is invested in government bonds.

The crisis levy the German government plans to impose on banks will be higher than previously expected, according to a report in Financial Times Deutschland, Spiegel Online reported.

EUROPEAN UPDATE: (citation: Adam Gallagher, Germany's Insolvency Law Expected to Be Modernized in Reaction to Financial Crisis, XXIX ABI Journal 10; 28, 93-94; December/January 2011) - Adam Gallagher

“Wherever there’s a fire in the euro zone, the financial firefighters rush to the scene. That’s us,” jokes Oliver Welke, Germany’s version of Jon Stewart, an American comedian, The Economist reported. Although the IMF and European Union are acting as co-rescuers of Ireland and Greece, Germans see themselves as rescuers-in-chief—and they resent it. “Will we finally have to pay for all of Europe?” asked Bild, a tabloid. Other Europeans see Germany as an arsonist. Angela Merkel, the chancellor, has twice dithered, arguing about conditions for a rescue even as the flames took hold.

The Ministry of Justice has issued a consultation paper on insolvency law reform. While many insolvency lawyers and academics have acclaimed the proposals, a significant number of insolvency administrators and judges have voiced their opposition to the paper.

In the course of several decisions German courts have pondered this question. The decisions were based on lawsuits of different national insurance holders against one and the same British insurance company who had implemented scheme proceedings. The company claims to have reached an ultimately binding understanding with its insurance holders. Due to the specialties in insurance law, the already mentioned Insolvency Regulation is not applicable. Thus, the courts did not have to deal directly with the Regulation when considering the acknowledgement of scheme proceedings in Germany.

In the matter “La Seda de Barcelona SA”, the English High Court of Justice decided on the international competence of English courts for the implementation of a “scheme of arrangement” with respect to multinational or foreign companies. The question had arisen, if Scheme proceedings according to English law can be applied on a company which was founded according to Spanish law. The decision concerned a Spanish holding company which also has subsidiaries in Great Britain. The company had been going through a crisis and intended to obtain new capital by way of restructuring.