Finding The Centre: COMI In A Multi-Jurisdictional World

The facts behind Mr. Justice Lewison's recent judgment in Stanford (STANFORD INTERNATIONAL BANK LIMITED [2009] EWHC 1441 (Ch)) have no direct connection with either the British Virgin or Cayman Islands but lawyers there do have particular reason to note the more general principles around the seemingly vexed but important issue of COMI in the context of multi-jurisdictional insolvency.

While many take advice on the detailed nuances of Cayman and BVI insolvency laws they can often be accused of ignoring the elephant in the room. The elephant is this, what role will international conflicts rules allow the insolvency law of these centres to take? Despite their small physical size the importance of these islands cannot be overestimated. Asset values move (occasionally even up) and those who quote them all have agendas but it does not seem unreasonable to accept that over $1.75 trillion of assets and over 40% of the world's offshore companies are present in those