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Optimal Allocation Of Law-­‐Making Power Over Bankruptcy Law In "Federal" And "Quasi-­‐Federal" Legal Systems: Is There A Case For Harmonizing Or Unifying Bankruptcy Law In The E.U.?, Federico M. Mucciarelli

Federico M. Mucciarelli

In “federal” or “quasi-federal” legal systems, the competence over bankruptcies can be allocated either to the “federal' level” or to the “member states”. In this regard, the E.U. and the U.S. follow two different paths: while in the U.S. bankruptcy law is federalized, in the E.U. it is governed by member states. E.U. law has only unified choice-of-law and choice-of-forum criteria through a Regulation enacted in 2000, according to which, the main insolvency proceeding is governed by the jurisdiction of debtor’s “Centre of Main Interests” (“COMI”). This mechanism was meant to grant legal certainty and to avoid forum shopping, but …