In the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2008, the international community clearly recognised the critical role that effective insolvency proceedings contribute to international cross-border financial stability. The explosion of global trade during the last century has elevated the drive to harmonise cross-border insolvency proceedings to the forefront of global harmonisation efforts. The initial attempts at cross-border insolvency harmonisation first emerged with the development of the Concordat by the International Bar Association. The Concordat was an attempt to achieve voluntary co-operation between states with regard to cross-border insolvency proceedings. The Concordat was a catalyst to initiate cross-border co-ordination among states, but advocates quickly realised that a voluntary system was not the solution to the growing problems of the intersection between insolvency law and international trade. Shortly after, the European Union (EU) began work on the development of the European Insolvency Regulations and following this, the United Nations Committee on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) promulgated the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency with Guide to Enactment and Interpretation.

The creation of both of these substantial works on cross-border insolvency law occurred over a very short period of time, and clearly demonstrated the need and desire for co-ordinated cross-border insolvency proceedings. Previously, the initiation of cross-border insolvency proceedings by companies operating in multiple jurisdictions resulted in duplication of administrative expenses, multiple proceedings (that could reach divergent results), a lack of uniformity and consistency in the issuance of distribution to creditors and the general inability to reorganise. This often led to liquidation and the cessation of business activities, creating a loss of jobs and substantial losses to creditors and interested parties.

Judges, practitioners and academics recognised that co-ordinated cross-border insolvency proceedings would need to be procedural and not substantive at the outset to be accepted and implemented by states.

In 1995 after an initial colloquium sponsored by INSOL, the International Bar Association Committee J and UNCITRAL, strong support emerged to develop an effective mechanism for dealing with cross-border insolvency proceedings in order to promote the objectives of co-operation between courts and competent authorities of states. This was to provide for greater legal certainty in trade and commerce, a fair and efficient administration of cross-border insolvency proceedings to protect the interests of creditors and other parties (including the debtor), and to provide for the further preservation of the value of the debtor's assets and the facilitation of the rescue of financially distressed businesses.

After the issuance of a mandate by the UNCITRAL Commission, in the short two-year period between 1995 and 1997, the UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency with Guide to Enactment and Interpretation was promulgated and adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations. Currently over twenty states have enacted and adopted the UNCITRAL Model Law, including Canada, Japan, Mexico, Colombia, the US and the UK, among others. A substantial number of other states are either in the process of adopting or considering adopting the Model Law as part of their overall insolvency law.

Considering the success of the creation of the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency, UNCITRAL established an exploratory meeting in December of 1999 to determine if there was an interest to develop a legislative guide on insolvency laws for the reorganisation and liquidation of business entities. Following an exploratory meeting (where a comprehensive statement, key objectives and core features were developed) the UNCITRAL Commission issued a mandate to begin work in July 2001 to prepare a legislative guide on insolvency law. Between 2001 and 2004, UNCITRAL Working Group V (Insolvency Law) worked on and completed a Legislative Guide on Insolvency Law. The Legislative Guide on Insolvency Law is currently viewed as the international standard for insolvency law reform by states in addressing both domestic and cross-border insolvency proceedings.

In recognising additional needs in the area of cross-border insolvency law, the UNCITRAL Commission issued a mandate for Working Group V to undertake further work on co-ordination and co-operation in cross-border insolvency cases with an emphasis on the use of negotiation of cross-border insolvency agreements. In 2009, the UNCITRAL Practice Guide on Cross-Border Insolvency Co-operation was approved by the UNCITRAL Commission and subsequently endorsed and adopted by the General Assembly of the United Nations.

With the approval of the UNCITRAL Commission, additional work to the Legislative Guide on Insolvency Law was authorised, which resulted in Part III: The Treatment of Enterprise Groups in Insolvency and Part IV: Directors’ Obligations in the Period Approaching Insolvency that were completed in 2012 and 2013 respectively.

While the Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency addressed a single company operating in multiple jurisdictions, UNCITRAL Working Group V (Insolvency Law), pursuant to mandates granted by the UNCITRAL Commission, are now addressing the issue of the development of a model law on enterprise groups, that is, addressing groups of companies operating in different jurisdictions to achieve an overall resolution through co-ordinated insolvency proceedings. Further work mandated by the UNCITRAL Commission is to develop a model law on the recognition of cross-border related insolvency judgments, both projects are now ongoing.

The EU has recently undertaken a complete review and analysis of the European Insolvency Regulations and is in the process of promulgating revisions of insolvency laws and procedure within the EU.

To put this in perspective, the authors of the 4th Edition of International insolvency: Group insolvency and directors' duties have provided an excellent update with regard to the status of insolvency reform and revisions in their respective jurisdictions.

When the work, both which has been completed and is ongoing, of UNCITRAL and the European Commission, among others, is compared to the excellent detail and information provided by the chapter authors from the respective jurisdictions, then and only then is the scope and extent of global insolvency reform appreciated.

The 4th Edition of International insolvency: Group insolvency and directors' duties provides an up-to-date analytical view of the insolvency law in the respective jurisdictions to provide the reader with a comprehensive and thorough analysis of the insolvency law in those jurisdictions.

The respective chapter authors have provided an excellent explanation which is readily understandable to the reader and provides an excellent resource for the insolvency professional or parties who are intimately involved with the insolvency process on a cross-jurisdictional basis.