Reform of the European rules on creditor protection in company law is imminent. Academic work on both sides of the Atlantic shows a tendency that traditional mandatory rules should give way to individual solutions which are freely negotiated between creditors and corporate debtors. Recent judgments by the European Court of Justice have spurred regulatory competition between Member States and the incumbent system is being challenged by the Europe-wide introduction of the International Accounting Standards/International Financial Reporting Standards. Last but not least, the European Insolvency Regulation poses the question how company law and insolvency law shall be realigned in the future.

Contributors to this book, which is based on the results of a symposium held in Munich in December 2005, include scholars who are currently working on reform projects in various Member States, leading experts in company law, insolvency law, accounting law, and economics. The manifold thoughts presented by these outstanding authors provide the reader with important insights and will not fail to inform and influence the current policy debate. As such, the book is an indispensable tool for all players in the field.

Prof. Dr Horst Eidenmüller is Professor of Private Law, German, European and International Company Law and Director of the Institute for International Law, Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany.

Prof. Dr Wolfgang Schön is Director of the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property, Competition and Tax Law, Department of Accounting and Taxation, in Munich and Honorary Professor at the Ludwig Maximilian University, Munich, Germany.