Director : Laura Sautonie-Laguionie is a Law Professor of Montesquieu-Bordeaux IV University. 

The "Insolvency Law" pole is part of the contemporary trend that uses law on bankruptcy as a tool for preserving jobs and promoting economic recovery, as set by the Europe 2020 strategy, or by national Parliaments during the recent reforms that Member States have gone through.

The Insolvency Law pole aims at bringing together experts, academics or professionals (judges, avocats, attorneys, bailiffs, business leaders) in order to create a European network, representing each Member State, that is able to react to European and national authorities' need for experts.

Context : Following a public consultation by the European Commission in 2012 on the possibility of revising the Insolvency Regulation (29 May 2000), TEE submitted a collective response under the supervision of Laura Sautonie-Laguionie. An Insolvency Law pole distinct from the Company Law pole was crucial for better visibility, as well as to respond to the various actions proposed by the European Commission in this domain through a communication and a draft project (12th December 2012).

Pole creation : 22nd January 2013. A conference was organised by Jean-Luc Vallens and Laura Sautonie-Laguionie retracing the steps of the Insolvency Regulation revision process, starting from the public consultation in July 2012.

Pole composition : to this day, the pole consists of 34 members, experts, academics or professionals both French and from abroad. This pole has also formed ties with various specialists in this area, regardless of TEE membership.

Pole actions :
--> completed projets :
The completed projects consist mainly in the drawing up of a collective publication and in responding to various public consultations. The pole also organised a workshop for the annual TEE forum in 2016 and participated in an international symposium in Bordeaux in partnership with the IDEFIE in 2016.

> Collective publication on the EU Regulation n° 2015/848 of 20 May 2015 on insolvency proceedings, commenting each article independently (“Le Règlement UE n° 2015/848 du 20 mai 2015 relatif aux procédures d’insolvabilité, commentaire article par article”, SLC published, TEE collection volume 12). This publication was released 6 months after the adoption of the Regulation of the 29th May 2000. It is the first publication concerning the Regulation. Its original format, commenting each article independently, has made the complex material accessible to professionals.

> Responded to a questionnaire by the French Ministry of Justice on the efficiency of commercial justice in February 2013. Under the supervision of Laura Sautonie-Laguionie, the pole mobilised academics, lawyers and representatives to respond to the questionnaire in anticipation of an internal law reform.

> Responded to a public consultation by the European Commission in October 2013 on a new European approach for corporate bankruptcy and insolvency under the supervision of the pole director.

> Responded to a public consultation by the European Commission on the 14th June 2016 entitled “an efficient framework for insolvency in the European Union” (“un cadre efficace en matière d’insolvabilité dans l’Union européenne”), under the supervision of the pole director.

> The group gathered in Paris in June 2017 and in November 2017. Informal studies were conducted and submitted to the Bureau du droit de l’économie des entreprises of the Ministry of Justice in July and September 2017. The Bureau greatly appreciated these technical analyses.

> During one of the workshops at the 2018 TEE forum, the pole director offered a critical analysis of the directive proposal and a valuable open discussion ensued.

--> planned projets :
> On the 22nd November 2016, a directive proposal by the European Commission paved the way for material harmonisation of insolvency law. This is a new step in this sector as the current Regulation is, for the most part, a private international law text. The pole created a working group in response to the directive proposal to assess the issues at stake for French and European law. The goal is to keep up to date with the proposal’s evolution and be competent in this subject matter as soon as a directive is adopted.

> As a response to a French-Italian project tender prepared by the pole director in April 2018, two symposiums, offering a comparative study of the directive, were suggested (one to take place in Bologna and the other in Bordeaux). This project was developed in collaboration with Italian colleagues and professionals, as well as with a member of the pole, Giulio-Cesare Giorgini. For the Bordeaux symposium, members of the Insolvency pole will act as moderators between various participants, allowing the pole’s analysis to be challenged by analyses of Italian and French participants. The proceedings of the symposium will be published in the Bulletin Joly des entreprises en difficultés. Financial support has already been found.

MEMBERS OF THE POLE

ANDREU Lionel, Maître de conférences, Université de Nantes

AUFORT Isabelle, Avocat 

BENILSI Stéphane, Maître de conférences, Université Montpellier 1

BERNARD-ROUJOU DE BOUBÉE Aude, Avocate, Maître de conférences, Institut Catholique de Toulouse   

BLOCH Pascale, Professeur, Université Paris XIII

BOLARD Georges, Professeur, Université Dijon

CAMENSULI-FEUILLARD Laurence, Maître de conférences, Université Bretagne-Sud

CHAPPELART Véronique, Consultante

COLLIN Véronique, Avocate

DUMONT KEVIN, Doctorant, Université Nice-Sophia-Antipolis

DUPRAT Philippe, Avocat, Ancien Bâtonnier du Barreau de Bordeaux, Responsable de l'Institut de Droit des Affaires du Barreau de Bordeaux            

FERNANDEZ TORRES Isabel, Prof. Contratado doctor, Université Complutense de Madrid (Espagne)

FUENTES Monica, Mercantile Law Professor, Université Complutense de Madrid (Espagne)

FRELETEAU Barbara, Maître de conférences à L'université de Bordeaux

GIORGINI, Giulio Cesare, Maître de conférences, Université Nice Sophia Antipolis

JACQUEMONT André, Professeur, Université de Bourgogne

LARIO Jerôme, Fundraiser

LAROCHE Maud, Professeur, Université de Rouen

LE BESCOND DE COATPONT Mathieu, Maître de Conférences, Université Lille 2

LEGRAND Véronique, Maître de conférences, Université de Caen

LIENHARD Alain, Rédacteur en chef du Recueil Dalloz   

LISANTI Cécile, Maître de conférences, Université de Montpellier

MACORIG-VENIER Francine, Professeur de droit privé, Université Toulouse 1 Capitole

MARECHAL Camille, Maître de conférences, Université d'Angers

NAVARRO Linda, Professeur de droit commercial, Université de Murcia, Espagne

OLIVIER Stephen, Etudiant

PORCHERON Delphine, Maître de conférences, Université de Strasbourg

QUESNEL Bernard, Avocat, Bâtonnier de l'Ordre des Avocats au Barreau de Bordeaux

RUBELLIN Pascal, Maître de conférences, Université de Poitiers

SALGADO Maria-Beatriz, Maître de conférences, Conservatoire National des Arts et métiers

SAUTONIE-LAGUIONIE Laura, Professeur, Université Bordeaux IV

SCHÄFERS Dominik, Dr. LL.M Akademischer Rät, Université de Munster, Allemagne

TRICOT Daniel, Président de l'Association Française des Docteurs en Droit       

WICKER Guillaume, Professeur, Université Bordeaux IV

ZOUIOUECHE Dalil, Doctorant-chercheur, Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne