Cross-border insolvency requires a new framework

While a corporate entity may have creditors, debtors and assets in various countries, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC), in its current avatar has no comprehensive legal framework on cross-border insolvency (CBI). The Ministry of Corporate Affairs on 20 June 2018 issued a public notice inviting comments on a draft chapter on cross-border insolvency, which is primarily based on the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency, 1997.

Currently, sections 234 and 235 of the IBC empower: (i) the government to make bilateral agreements with other countries for enforcing the IBC; and (ii) the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to issue a letter of request to a foreign court for action on a debtor’s assets. Once a bilateral treaty is executed, and these provisions are notified, a foreign proceeding will be recognized in India, as per the Civil Procedure Code, 1908, while an Indian proceeding will be recognized in the foreign country based on its procedural rules.

Abhishek Dutta is the founder and managing partner of Aureus Law Partners.