UN trade law group welcomes Australian move on insolvency

The United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) today welcomed Australia’s adoption of legislation – based on the Commission’s model – on cross-border insolvency.

Australia becomes the fifteenth country or jurisdiction to adopt legislation based on the UNCITRAL model on this subject, which was endorsed by the UN General Assembly in 1997 to try to help States harmonize their laws on insolvency.

The model law deals with cases where an insolvent debtor has assets in more than one State or where some of the creditors are not from the State where the insolvency proceedings are being held.

It aims to respect individual countries’ national procedural laws, but at the same time include features to resolve problems, such as by granting access to courts to foreign representatives, enhancing cross-border cooperation and recognizing foreign proceedings.

Established in 1966, the Vienna-based UNCITRAL works to remove obstacles to international trade by progressively modernizing and harmonizing trade law.