When does German Insolvency Law apply?
Whether or not German Insolvency Law applies in an international situation is to be decided on the basis of conflict of law rules. There are essentially two distinct sets of conflict of insolvency law regimes which coexist in Germany, each of them applying to different categories of entities and with respect to different cross-border scenarios. The EU Insolvency Regulation (Regulation) applies to insolvency proceedings for all entities except for certain financial enterprises in most of the European Union member States. If the German entity is a financial enterprise (e.g. bank or insurance company) or if the counterparty is established in a state which is not subject to the Regulation, the section on international insolvency law in the German Insolvency Code (GIC) applies. The principle which is common to both legal regimes, however, is that international jurisdiction is derived from the “centre of commercial interest” which is the place where the interests of the insolvent entity are
