Recent months have seen continued judicial and legislative developments in the cross border insolvency landscape, with particular trends towards enhanced international cooperation, procedural consistency and coordination of administration of multinational insolvency estates. Set out below is a brief overview of several notable developments across jurisdictions.
India
There are plans in India to create a new bench of the National Company Law Tribunal, which will specifically be dedicated to cross-border insolvency cases. The proposal appears aimed at expediting recognition applications, coordination issues and multinational restructuring proceedings involving offshore creditors and assets.
The development follows increasing judicial and legislative focus on adopting a modified UNCITRAL Model Law framework under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 in India. This seeks to accommodate the increasing trend towards complex Indian restructurings involving multi-jurisdictional capital structures and foreign creditor groups, as highlighted in recent cases involving Jet Airways, Videocon Industries, Essar Steel and Amtek Auto.
South Africa
On 23 March 2025, in Scheer v Wagner NO and Others, the Supreme Court of Appeal in South Africa deliberated on a key issue related to the recognition of foreign insolvency trustees.
The Court confirmed that, subject to domestic debts being settled, if any surplus remains and the bankrupt's estate spans multiple jurisdictions, the surplus funds may be transferred to a recognised foreign trustee for distribution to creditors of that jurisdiction. The decision confirms a move towards honouring common law principles of international comity rather than adopting a strictly territorial approach to confine distributions solely within the domestic estate.
This decision will be a leading authority for cross border distribution of surplus funds arising out of South African insolvency proceedings.
Singapore and Indonesia
On 30 March 2025, the Supreme Courts of Singapore and Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that gives both countries a formal channel for coordinating on the same insolvency or restructuring case.
Singapore Courts' official statement noted that the arrangement builds on the ASEAN Model Framework approved in November 2025 and follows Singapore's court-to-court protocols with Malaysia in 2021 and with the Philippines in 2025.
In practical terms, the MOU seeks to improve procedural efficiency by formalising court-to-court communication when restructuring and insolvency cases span both jurisdictions, providing a clear framework to follow rather than reliance on ad-hoc judicial accommodations relied upon to this point.
European Union
On 30 March 2025, the European Council approved a new insolvency harmonisation directive to improve recoveries and consistency across Member States. The measures include minimum rules on avoidance actions, asset tracing, pre-pack proceedings, directors' duties and creditors' committees.
These changes form part of the EU's broader Capital Markets Union agenda and is intended to reduce legal fragmentation across Member States and thereby create more certainty within the European market. Member states have until 22 January 2029 to transpose most of its provisions into their national laws.