Executory Contracts in Insolvency Law: A Global Guide, Jason Chuah and Eugenio Vaccari (eds) (2019, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham) 736 pp., £195, ISBN 978‐1‐78811‐551‐3

• Date: 01 May 2020
• Author: Jennifer Gant
• Published date: 01 May 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/iir.1364

BOOK REVIEW

Executory Contracts in Insolvency Law:

A Global Guide

Edited by Jason Chuah jEugenio Vaccari (eds)

(2019, Edward Elgar, Cheltenham) 736 pp., £195, ISBN 978-1-78811-551-3

1|INTRODUCTION

Executory Contracts in Insolvency Law: A Global Guide, edited by Professor Jason Chuah of

City University in London and Dr Eugenio Vaccari of University of Essex, compiles a the-

matic and comparative critique of the treatment of execut ory contracts during insolvency

procedures. Executory contracts are a complex problem for insolvency law procedures as a

financial crisis does not necessarily bring contracts to an end, creating a difficult legal quan-

dary on how to resolve overhanging contractual obligations that a company may not be able

to afford to resolve under the originally agreed terms. The project undertaken by Chuah and

Vaccari aims to interrogate the approaches of a range of developed and developing coun-

tries, identifying “key supporters, the stakeholders, and the pull-push factors driving the

agenda for reform”.

1

The project can boast of contributions from 34 jurisdictions from all over the world,

including a number of common law, civil law and hybrid systems from developed and devel-

oping countries with both small and large economies. The work presents an interesting dis-

cussion of lessons that can be learned from the various jurisdictions while identifying key

stakeholder and influences that drive reform agendas. The project also explores to some

extent the theoretical underpinnings that explain how different insolvency law systems treat

executory while also examining the policy recommendations that may influence future

reforms in the area. The project team undertook a functional comparative law analysis to

ascertain the impact of the effects of the legal rules governing the treatment of executory

contracts in insolvency. In addition to the legal perspective, the team also undertook to

explain certain cultural factors that would also have an influence on the treatment of execu-

tory contracts in an insolvency context.

Jennifer Gant is a Post-Doctoral Researcher at the University College Cork in Ireland on the Judicial Co-Operation

supporting Economic Recovery in Europe (JCOERE) Project, which is funded by the European Commission's DG

Justice programme.

DOI: 10.1002/iir.1364

© 2020 INSOL International and John Wiley & Sons Ltd

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