School of Law

University of New England

2021 Kirby Seminar series

Via Webinar Monday 10 May 2021 at 1 pm AEST   

Adjunct Professor Charles Qu, School of Law, University of New England

Defining the Scope of the Model Law for Cross-Border Insolvency: A Matter of Statutory Interpretation

(The role of statutory interpretation in resolving legal issues)

In this Kirby seminar, Adjunct Professor Charles Qu will present the argument of how an ambiguity in the United Nations Commission on International Trade Model Law for Cross-Border Insolvency may be resolved through statutory interpretation. The ambiguity concerns the relevance of the debtor’s insolvency for determining whether a winding-up proceeding is within the scope of the Model Law. The paper will discuss a group of cases, including an Australian precedent and a recent UK High Court decision. The seminar concludes that the solution of the issue raised requires, inter alia, a holistic analysis of all available interpretive tools, including the drafting history and the European Insolvency Regulation, which is a statute in pari materia. Among the issues discussed are also the reasons for the admissibility, as an interpretive tool, of the updated Guide to Enactment, which was publicised subsequent to the Model Law.

Charles Qu is an Adjunct Professor at the School of Law of University of New England. He has worked with the Griffith Law School, Murdoch Law School and the City University of Hong Kong Law School.

His research interests include company law and corporate insolvency. His papers in these areas are published in respected outlets such as the University of New South Wales Law Journal, Journal of Business Law, Journal of Corporate Law Studies, Monash University Law Review, Common Law World Review and International Insolvency Review. His Co-authored treatise (with Dr Stefan Lo) on Hong Kong Company Law has been cited on multiple occasions by courts in Hong Kong.

If interested and to obtain a link, please register for this Kirby Seminar at:

https://une-au.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_X1P91ETiR6SdV7z99aRBxg