The thesis is denoted to two principal issues of European insolvency law - COMI notion interpretation and forum shopping. On the background of historic development, it interprets the current wording of European Insolvency Regulation in the light of case law issued by the Court of Justice of the European Union. It also analyses benefits and drawbacks of proposed legislative changes to COMI motion in the connection with the contemplated amendment of the European Insolvency Regulation. It proposes that COMI of companies is determined using irrebuttable presumption of COMI in the place of their registered seat. Further, it distinguishes between positive and negative forum shopping. Also, it provides an overview of risks and advantages related to forum shopping. The thesis evaluates the efficiency of current and potential tools for forum shopping elimination. It also deals with the relation of forum shopping to EU principal freedoms.

Les entreprises sont situées au centre d’un réseau quasi-illimité de relations juridiques et d’intérêts économiques, sociaux et politiques. A ce titre, le sauvetage d'une entreprise viable s'opère dans l'intérêt du plus grand nombre de ses partenaires. Les législateurs anglais et français ont dans cette optique engagé des réflexions sur la création de nouvelles procédures et/ou techniques permettant d’aider les entreprises en difficulté et participent en ce sens au courant de la « rescue culture ». Cette culture du sauvetage est devenue un objectif européen en raison notamment du développement des échanges économiques au-delà des frontières. C’est le règlement européen n°1346/2000 du 29 mai 2000 qui régit la matière. En décembre 2012, la Commission a proposé des dispositions modifiant ledit règlement afin notamment de prendre en compte les priorités actuelles de l’UE et des pratiques nationales relatives à la législation sur l’insolvabilité, notamment les actions visant le redressement des entreprises en difficulté. La problématique qui peut être soulevée ici est de savoir en quoi le règlement peut être un outil au service du sauvetage de l’entreprise. La réponse à celle-ci ne peut se faire sous l’angle purement national car il se veut être un instrument au service de la reconnaissance et de l’exécution des décisions en matière d’insolvabilité pour l’ensemble des Etats signataires. Il a donc fallu trouver un angle d’approche plus large. L’analyse comparative entre le droit anglais et le droit français est d’un grand intérêt, puisqu’elle permet de mettre en avant les similitudes et divergences de deux systèmes de droit, habituellement opposés. / The enterprises are in the center of a quasi-unlimited network of legal relations and economic, social and politic interests. As such, the rescue of a viable enterprise is done in the interest of the majority of its partners. The English and French legislators, have in this goal started thinking about the creations of new proceedings and/or new techniques which permits to help the enterprises in difficulty and participate to the “Rescue Culture”. This Rescue Culture is also become an European target because of the development of the economics exchange beyond the national borders. This is the European Insolvency Regulation n° 1346/2000 which governs this subject matter. In December 2012, the Commission has proposed dispositions which amend this regulation to take into account both the present priorities of the European Union and National practices in insolvency, especially the actions for the rescue of enterprises in difficulty. The problem which may be discussed is to know how the insolvency regulation may be an instrument for the enterprises rescue. The answer can’t be given under a single national point of view because this regulation is an instrument of recognition and execution of decisions regarding insolvency proceeding for the member states of the European Union. It was necessary to find a larger point of view. The comparative analysis between the English Law and the French Law has a high interest for this topic, because it allows to put forward the similarities and the differences of two different systems of law, usually opposed.

The aim of this PhD thesis is to analyse the current status of European insolvency law and with the help of both national and European judicial decisions put together an overview of practical obstacles that insolvency courts, debtors, creditors and insolvency trustees across Europe are facing when dealing with cross-border insolvencies. At the very core of this topic stands the European Insolvency Regulation ("EIR") which was adopted in 2015 and is effective within the member states as of June 2017. Since this regulation was put together as a recast of its predecessor, i.e. the original insolvency regulation adopted in 2000 and effective as of 2002, naturally this research is oriented at comparing the two legislative acts and mainly assessing whether or not the recast EIR managed to overcome some of the inconsistencies in the wording of the original EIR, often resulting in conflicting interpretations and a great deal of preliminary rulings filed with the Court of Justice of the EU. Apart from looking into good old instruments of private international law such as the scope, the jurisdiction, the choice of law and the recognition and enforcement rules governed by the EIR, this thesis also focuses on topics that are very bankruptcy-specific and dissimilar to anything we know from other fields of law....