The UNCITRAL Cross-Border Model Law and Mediation:
Panaceas for International Restructurings?

This panel discusses the role that the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (Model Law) and the process of mediation can and do play to facilitate collaborative approaches to resolving international insolvency and restructuring cases. The panel will briefly examine the development of the Model Law with respect to cooperation and coordination, focusing on Articles 25-30, the development and use of other international cooperation protocols, and the intersection of the Model Law with the use of alternative dispute mechanisms, such as mediation. More than 30 years after one of the first attempts at cross-border facilitation in the Maxwell Protocol, has the Model Law proved to be the panacea to facilitate greater cross-border cooperation and coordination in insolvency cases? And can mediation be used as a specific mechanism to complement the Model Law to provide an out-of-court dispute resolution technique which facilitates collaborative value-enhancing outcomes?

Mediation, as a tool to resolve cross-border insolvencies, remains under-utilized. The panel will discuss the benefits and potential of mediation in the cross-border arena, looking at recent notable cases to profile the benefits of mediation and the kinds of issues and disputes within the context of international insolvency cases that are amenable to resolution via mediation. COVID-19 has magnified global market interconnectedness, exposed the vulnerabilities in our systems, and placed immense pressure on businesses – many of which have a global footprint – and called into question their long-term viability across multiple sectors. In this context, there is a very clear role for enhanced cross-border cooperation as well as the distinct use of mediation as a means for resolving complex cross-border disputes, reducing costs, and improving the speed and efficiency of insolvency processes.

Registration Fee:

INSOL Members: £15
Non-Members: £30