Is Insolvency Different? (Updated)

Introduction

In 2004, the Isle of Man court in Re Impex¹ decided that the court had a common law power to co-operate with and assist other courts in relation to insolvency matters. The scope of that power has since been examined at the highest judicial levels.

In 2006, during oral submissions in the hearing before the Privy Council in Cambridge Gas² (a corporate insolvency case) Counsel argued that "insolvency is different". In that spirit, the Privy Council departed from established principles of private international law in order to assist the US bankruptcy court.

In 2012, the Supreme Court in Rubin³ considered that insolvency is insufficiently different to upset established principles of private international law, which it said would be to legislate, and that Cambridge Gas was wrongly decided.