Vol 4 (2007) - Issue 1

Article preview

A Note to Our Readership

It is indeed a privilege to write the Editorial for the first edition of International Corporate Rescue (ICR) to be published under the auspices of the Commercial Law Centre at University College London. The journal, under the General Editorship of Mark Fennessy, has an established reputation for the quality of its cutting edge articles and reviews of the law and policies underpinning corporate rescue and insolvency.
One of the hallmarks of ICR is that it engages not only with UK law but spans the jurisdictional divide. The sheer breadth and quality of the Editorial Board reflects its commitment in this regard. In responding to the internationalisation of the modern corporation, the journal performs a crucial role in providing a platform that takes a holistic approach towards the various regimes governing corporate constituencies around the globe. One important yardstick against which such a platform can be tested is its impact on shaping legal opinion.
On any measure, ICR has been remarkably successful in fulfilling this goal. Its readers will recall the influence which Professor Worthington’s seminal article, ‘An Unsatisfactory Area of the Law – Fixed and Floating Charges Yet Again’ (2004) 1 ICR 175, exerted on the House of Lords in the Spectrum Plus case. This was probably one of the most important corporate recovery and insolvency cases to be heard in Great Britain and the Commonwealth in the last 30 years relating to the interpretation of Fixed and Floating Charges. This endorsement occurred at a relatively early stage in the Journal’s development and stands as testimony to the quality of the work found within its covers.
However, this is not to suggest that ICR should rest on its laurels. Recognising the need to maintain the impetus for scholarly debate at the highest level, the General Editor has generously permitted UCL’s Commercial Law Centre to provide a home for the Journal. Indeed, there is a synergy between its editorial policies and a core objective of the Centre to promote excellence in the research of international commercial law by contributing to the critical understanding of the legal, socio-economic and political dimensions of regulatory regimes. This is not to lose sight of the importance of the practice of commercial law and, more particularly, insolvency law and corporate rescue. Indeed, an important aspect of the Centre’s role is to bridge the gap between the academic and the practical application of the law, and in this respect ICR provides a vital conduit which connects the two.
Any reader who might casually glance at the contents of previous issues of ICR will be struck by the consistent theme of reform that cuts across national borders. This is likely to continue well into the future. And, from the perspective of the UK for example, much is afoot in the realms of company law. On 8 November 2006 the Companies Bill received Royal Assent (the final stage during the passage of legislation through the UK Parliament). It will be brought into force in stages between now and October 2008 and will eventually repeal and replace the Companies Act 1985. At the heart of the new legislation, which is the longest statute in the history of Parliament running to 1,300 sections and 16 Schedules, lie the policy objectives of simplifying the administrative burden on small private companies, facilitating shareholder engagement and updating and clarifying the law. One aspect of the latter goal is the Government’s decision to codify the equitable and common law duties of directors.