Regulation (EU) 2015/848 on Insolvency Proceedings: Scope, Jurisdiction & Applicable Law

Regulation (EU) 2015/848 of the European Parliament and of the Council on insolvency proceedings was adopted on 20 May 2015 and entered into force on 25 June of the same year as a binding legal act of the European Union. It is important to emphasize, however, that its full application applies only to insolvency proceedings opened after 26 June 2017.

Following the most recent amendments to the Regulation on 8 October 2025, which updated the types of insolvency proceedings and practitioners across multiple Member States, it is useful to recall its fundamental principles regarding the scope of application, court jurisdiction, and applicable law in insolvency proceedings.

1. Scope of Application

First, the Regulation applies to public collective proceedings, including temporary proceedings governed by insolvency-related laws, where, for the purpose of rescue, debt restructuring, reorganization, or liquidation:

• the debtor’s assets are wholly or partially placed under the control of an insolvency practitioner;
• the debtor’s assets and operations are subject to supervision or monitoring by the court; or
• a temporary stay of individual enforcement measures is granted by the court, or arises by operation of law, to facilitate negotiations between the debtor and its creditors, provided that adequate measures to protect creditors are in place and, if no agreement is reached, the stay is followed by one of the proceedings described above.

Collective proceedings are defined as those involving all creditors of the debtor or a substantial part thereof, provided that, in the latter case, the proceedings do not adversely affect the claims of creditors not included. The European legislator adopted this definition to account for the diversity of insolvency systems across the EU, where some Member States have typical insolvency procedures encompassing all creditors, while others maintain preliminary or special proceedings. This ensures that the rights of creditors not participating in a procedure are protected, thereby safeguarding the automatic recognition of national court decisions across the EU.

2. Jurisdiction

The jurisdiction of Member State courts to open insolvency proceedings is determined by the location of the debtor’s centre of main interests (COMI), defined as the place where the debtor conducts its regular business and which is ascertainable by third parties.

The Regulation establishes rebuttable presumptions regarding COMI: for companies and legal persons, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, the registered office is presumed to be the COMI; for individuals carrying out independent professional or business activities, the principal place of business is presumed to be the COMI.

Consequently, if the debtor’s COMI is located in one Member State, another Member State may open insolvency proceedings against the debtor only if the debtor maintains an establishment within that state. Such proceedings are limited to the debtor’s assets situated within that Member State and are classified as secondary insolvency proceedings.

Courts receiving a request to open insolvency proceedings ex officio verify their jurisdiction. However, where proceedings are initiated under national law without a court decision, Member States may entrust the appointed insolvency practitioner with determining whether the state in which the proceeding is taking place has jurisdiction. In such cases, the insolvency practitioner establishes the basis for jurisdiction and provides reasoning, specifically indicating whether it is grounded in the rules set out by the Regulation.

3. Applicable Law

The applicable law in these proceedings is the law of the Member State in which the proceedings are opened, unless the Regulation provides otherwise.