The International Insolvency Institute (III) invites submissions of original scholarly and practice-oriented papers for presentation at the academic meeting during its 2027 Annual Conference in Dublin, Ireland. This call is open to all III members (including non-academics) and to academics worldwide who are engaged in insolvency, restructuring, and creditors' rights research.

Theme and Scope

The III is seeking papers that advance the understanding of insolvency and restructuring law in ways that are relevant to an international audience. This includes comparative and cross-border analyses, but also papers that examine how a particular jurisdiction has addressed a key issue in a way that offers lessons, models, or points of contrast for practitioners and policymakers elsewhere. The common thread is that submissions should have something meaningful, relevant, and new to say to restructuring professionals beyond a single domestic audience or a topic that has been covered repeatedly in the past (even if you are the expert on this topic).

The following are non-exhaustive examples of the types of papers we are interested in current original thinking on:

• Cross-border recognition and eligibility requirements. Compare how different jurisdictions determine eligibility for recognition of foreign insolvency proceedings, including threshold requirements such as the debtor's connection to the recognising jurisdiction (e.g., COMI determination, property or establishment requirements) and the point in time at which those requirements must be satisfied. The divergent approaches to petition-date versus recognition-date assessment across US courts, and how other Model Law enacting states handle analogous questions, are of particular interest.
• The UNCITRAL Model Law in practice. Evaluate the effectiveness and consistency of the Model Law as enacted across jurisdictions, including the operation of discretionary features such as the public policy exception. Comparative studies examining how courts in different countries have interpreted the scope of the public policy carve-out and whether the inclusion or omission of the word “manifestly” has produced meaningfully different outcomes are welcomed.
• Regulated and restricted industries in cross-border restructuring. Analyse how insolvency frameworks accommodate cross-border restructurings involving industries that are lawful in some jurisdictions but restricted or prohibited in others, such as cannabis, cryptocurrency, or online gambling. Papers might examine how practitioners have structured filings to navigate conflicting regulatory regimes, as illustrated by recent Canada–US cannabis restructurings.
• Cooperation, comity, and the limits of deference. Assess how courts in concurrent or parallel proceedings exercise comity and deference toward foreign proceedings, including the circumstances in which local courts have declined to extend recognition or relief. Comparative treatments of cross-border protocols, information-sharing arrangements, and the coordination of multi-jurisdictional enterprise group insolvencies are encouraged.
• Preventive restructuring and pre-insolvency frameworks. Compare the design and effectiveness of preventive restructuring tools across jurisdictions, including the EU Restructuring Directive, the UK restructuring plan, Singapore's scheme of arrangement reforms, and analogous mechanisms in other regions.
• Insolvency at the intersection of public law. Explore the comparative treatment of sovereign or public-law dimensions of insolvency, including the role of state-backed creditors (such as tax authorities) in foreign proceedings, the enforceability of foreign tax claims, and how courts balance creditor equality with sovereign interests in cross-border cases.
• Creditor priorities, security, and distribution. Examine different approaches to creditor hierarchy, the treatment of secured creditors, super-priority financing, and distributional fairness in insolvency. Papers might compare statutory priority schemes, analyse how different systems balance the interests of employees, tax authorities, and financial creditors, or assess innovations in debtor-in-possession or rescue financing, including third-party litigation financing.
• Directors' duties, liability, and governance in distress. Analyse how different legal systems define the duties and potential liabilities of directors as a company approaches or enters insolvency, including the shift from shareholder to creditor interests, wrongful or insolvent trading regimes, and safe harbour protections for restructuring attempts in the context of the changing shape of restructuring regimes.
• Technology, data, and digital assets in insolvency. Consider how insolvency frameworks are adapting to technology-driven challenges, including the treatment of digital assets and crypto in estate administration, the use of AI or data analytics in restructuring proceedings, and the adequacy of existing legal frameworks for technology-sector insolvencies.
• Environmental and social dimensions of restructuring. Explore the treatment of environmental liabilities, climate-related financial distress, and ESG considerations in insolvency and restructuring, including whether and how insolvency law should account for successor liability, remediation obligations, or the social impact of restructuring on employees and communities.

Papers need not be comparative in structure, but they must offer insights relevant to an international readership. A paper that examines a single jurisdiction's approach to a key issue is welcome provided it draws out lessons, innovations, or cautionary examples that resonate beyond that jurisdiction's borders. Purely domestic treatments with no broader perspective, for example, a doctrinal survey of one country's case law addressed solely to a local audience, fall outside the scope of this call.

Submission Guidelines

• Format: Submissions should be in English, double-spaced, with footnotes rather than endnotes. Citations should follow a recognised legal citation style consistently throughout.
• Abstract: Each submission must include an abstract of no more than 300 words summarising the paper's thesis, methodology, and comparative scope.
• Process: Submissions should be uploaded here.

Review Process

All submissions will undergo a peer review process overseen by the III Academic Committee. Papers will be evaluated on the strength of their comparative analysis, originality, practical relevance to the international insolvency community, and clarity of expression.

Key Dates

• Deadline for submission of papers: January 31, 2027 (8pm; Eastern Standard Time)
• Notification of acceptance: Week of March 1, 2027

Questions?

Please contact III Academic Committee Co-Chairs Professor Stephanie Ben-Ishai and Professor Stephen J. Lubben.

Thank you for your submission!