Also known by its official title, Council Regulation (EC) 1346/2000 on insolvency proceedings. The EC Regulation on Insolvency Proceedings (Insolvency Regulation) was adopted by the Council of the European Union (www.practicallaw.com/5-107-7562) on 29 May 2000, and came into force on 31 May 2002. It is directly applicable (meaning it has automatic legal effect and prevails over domestic legislation) in all member states in the European Union (www.practicallaw.com/6-107-6562) (EU), excluding Denmark.
The Insolvency Regulation aims to introduce certain conflicts of law rules for insolvency proceedings concerning debtors based in the EU that have operations in more than one member state. Its central premise is that the member state in which a debtor has its centre of main interests (in other words, the member state with which the debtor is most closely connected) should be the place in which insolvency proceedings over a debtor are commenced; insolvency proceedings elsewhere in the EU should be purely local in effect and, in any case, subservient to the main proceedings.
The Insolvency Regulation does not seek to harmonise substantive law or policy between EU member states and has specific rules ensuring certain legal relationships, for example, rights of set-off and contracts relating to immoveable property are not changed by the rules on jurisdiction in the Insolvency Regulation.
For the official text of the Insolvency Regulation, see Council Regulation (EC) 1346/2000 on insolvency proceedings (OJ 2000 L 160/1) (www.practicallaw.com/1-385-0295).
The Annexes to the Insolvency Regulation were recently amended by Council Regulations (EU) 583/2011 of 9 June 2011 and 210/2010 of 25 February 2010. For the text of the Annexes as amended, see Regulations implementing Council Regulation (EU) No 583/2011 of 9 June 2011 and Regulations implementing Council Regulation (EU) No 210/2010 of 25 February 2010 (OJ 2010 L 65/1).