National Report for France

This chapter investigates the treatment of executory contracts under French corporate insolvency law. While the French Commercial Code does not provide a definition of the concept of executory contracts, it is generally assumed that insolvency proceedings do not result in the automatic termination of the debtor’s executory contracts. Hence, executory contracts remain binding on both parties pending their assumption or rejection by the insolvency official. As certain types of executory contracts are deemed to justify special treatment in insolvency proceedings, the chapter investigates their treatment under the law. The chapter also investigates the treatment of contractual remedies in insolvency law, such as ipso facto clauses, close-out netting provisions and flip clauses. Finally, the chapter analyses the most recent reforms in the corporate insolvency field and the drivers behind these regulatory changes. The report concludes that the most recent reforms have improved the balance between debtor and creditor protection: France is now a more investor-friendly jurisdiction, while debtors benefit from a more sophisticated set of tools

Theory and Practice of General Principles of International Legal Cooperation: A Thematical and Comparative Approach

This publication features extended abstracts of papers which were presented at the roundtable on International Legal Cooperation at the Law and Society Association conference in Denver, from 28 to 31 May 2020. The roundtable was organized by Professor Ricardo Perlingeiro from Estacio de Sa University (Brazil) and Dr Emilie Ghio from Birmingham City University (UK). It gathered experts from different jurisdictions across the world who discussed the theory and practice of selected general principles of international legal cooperation, from a thematical and comparative perspective. The debate on international legal cooperation is wide and rich, and over the last two decades, many academic contributions have suggested recommendations to some of the main challenges facing international legal cooperation. However, discussions around issues of legal cooperation at international level have usually taken either a global approach, focusing on procedural challenges, or a thematical approach, focusing on specific areas of law. We believe that there is space for innovative insights that may be able to move the discussion beyond these established lines of research. This is why the Roundtable on International Legal Cooperation at the LSA conference in Denver adopted both a theoretical, as well as concrete approach, while engaging in thematical, as well as comparative debates. The comparative element of the discussion stemmed from the variety of jurisdictions represented at the roundtable: Brazil, Spain, the UK, the USA and the EU. The presenters’ varied legal backgrounds allowed for a thematical approach to the discussion around selected general principles of international legal cooperation, as presenters have expertise in: (i) administrative law and environmental law; (ii) criminal law; (iii) family law; (iv) insolvency law; (v) intellectual property law; (vi) healthcare law; and (vii) extradition law. Methodologically, the roundtable proceeded as follows. Selected general principles of international legal cooperation were presented. These principles included: (i) the equality of nations; (ii) harmonization; (iii) reciprocity; (iv) public order; (v) jurisdiction; (vi) recognition and enforcement; and (vii) general procedural issues. Each principle was allocated to one expert, who discussed that principle in a theoretical manner, exposing how it is exercised and perhaps, raises issues, in the context of international legal cooperation. Following this short theoretical presentation, the other discussants joined in the conversation and provided concrete examples of how the principle presented applies to their own field of expertise. Participants flagged notorious cases or instances in which these principles have caused – or solved – problems in the context of international legal cooperation. The uniqueness of the discussion came from the fact that the discussants hold different views on a same principle, depending on their area of expertise as well as their jurisdiction. This diversity is welcomed as it illustrates the richness of the debate on international legal cooperation and encourages readers to reflect on the complementarity of these different approaches to common issues. The extended abstracts which feature in this issue are the preliminary results of the research conducted by the LSA roundtable participants on the abovementioned general principles of international legal cooperation

Mapping Preventive Restructuring Frameworks and the EU Directive on Restructuring and Insolvency. Country Report: France

Compared with other countries which we have surveyed for the JCOERE project, the approach of France to restructuring has been developed incrementally since the 1980s with continued reassessment and development over time. The sauvegarde procedures described below are covered by the EIR-Recast 2015 which is interesting in terms of future developments when we compare which rescue processes are outside or within the Regulation. None of these procedures specifically allows for cross class cram down, which is the corner stone to a robust restructuring process. However, it would seem that further reforms, anticipated in light of the PRD 1023/2019, will address this issue. The prevention of insolvency proceedings and the consequent rescue of dependent businesses and preservation of jobs are amongst the stated policy goals

Quels tests d'intelligibilité pour évaluer les troubles de production de la parole ?

International audienceSpeech intelligibility is defined as the precision with which a message is understood by an auditor. The loss of intelligibility is often a major complaint for patients with speech production disorders, since it contributes to reducing the quality of life. Several tools currently exist to assess intelligibility but none fully satisfies the clinical constraints. In a first study, we adapted to French language the Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment version 2, a well-known test for English speakers used for evaluating dysarthric speakers. We created the French corpus of words using criteria defined in the FDA -2 and then we tested the protocol over fifty speakers. The results are satisfactory but various methodological bias have led us to continue our efforts in proposing non sense words, which is equivalent to acoustic- phonetic decoding.L'intelligibilité de la parole se définit comme le degré de précision avec lequel un message est compris par un auditeur. A ce titre, la perte d'intelligibilité représente souvent une plainte importante pour les patients atteints de troubles de production de la parole, puisqu'elle participe à la diminution de la qualité de vie au niveau communicationnel. Plusieurs outils existent actuellement pour évaluer l'intelligibilité mais aucun ne satisfait pleinement les contraintes cliniques. Dans une première étude, nous avons adapté au français la version 2 du Frenchay Dysarthria Assessment, un test reconnu dans le milieu anglo-saxon pour l'évaluation de locuteurs dysarthriques. Nous avons créé le corpus de mots français en nous appuyant sur les critères définis dans le FDA-2 puis nous avons testé le protocole sur une cinquantaine de locuteurs. Les résultats sont satisfaisants mais divers biais méthodologiques nous ont conduits à poursuivre notre démarche en proposant des listes de pseudo-mots apparentant le test à du décodage acoustico-phonétique

Harmonising insolvency law in the EU: New thoughts on old ideas in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic

While the harmonisation of insolvency law in the European Union (EU) has been a top priority on the European institutions’ agenda in the last decade, it is well known that this endeavour has been slow and has often met resistance from the Member States. The COVID-19 pandemic revealed that top-down harmonisation of insolvency (i.e. introduced at EU-level) has been temporarily halted. The urgency to control or mitigate the economically and financially destructive effects of the pandemic has, nevertheless, forced European governments to adopt domestic strategies and laws in the area of insolvency. Interestingly, however, such measures show that insolvency and restructuring law responses to the COVID-19 pandemic, albeit largely uncoordinated, reflect a phenomenon of bottom-up harmonisation(i.e. introduced by Member States) indicating a convergence towards common approaches. This paper interrogates the insolvency law responses to the COVID-19 pandemic in six European countries (Denmark, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom). It uncovers the inadequacy of the EU’s harmonisation language, and the limits of harmonisation strategies in insolvency and restructuring law. Finally, it promotes the formulation of a wider-encompassing definition of “legal harmonisation”

Technostress and academic motivation: direct and indirect effects on university students' psychological health

Introduction: Research has well demonstrated that the pandemic entailed several implications among university students worldwide in terms of increased use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs), technostress, disruptions in academic goals and motivation processes, and growing psychological suffering. Responding to the new research need to go in-depth into the processes linking technostress and motivation dimensions to inform current research/interventions, the present study aimed to explore the direct effects of perceived Technostress dimensions (Techno-Overload, Work-Home Conflict, Pace of Change, Techno-Ease, Techno-Reliability, and Techno-Sociality) and Academic Motivation dimensions (Amotivation, Intrinsic, and Extrinsic Motivation dimensions) on students' perceived levels of Anxiety/Depression and test the potential indirect effect (mediating role) of Academic Motivation dimensions in the associations between Technostress and psychological health conditions. Methods: Overall, 1,541 students from five European countries (Czech Republic, Greece, Italy, Serbia, United Kingdom) completed a survey comprising a Background Information Form, the Technostress Scale, the Academic Motivation Scale-College, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale. Hayes' PROCESS tool was used to test direct and indirect (mediating) effects. Results: Data revealed that Techno-Overload, Work-Home Conflict, Amotivation, and Extrinsic Motivation-Introjected had a direct negative effect, whereas Techno-Ease, Techno-Reliability, Techno-Sociality, all Intrinsic Motivation dimensions, and Extrinsic Motivation-Identified had a direct protective role for students' psychological health. The significant indirect role of motivation dimensions in the associations between Technostress dimensions and Anxiety/Depression was fully supported. Discussion: Findings allow gaining further insight into the pathways of relationships between technostress, motivation, and psychological health, to be used in the current phase, featured by the complete restoration of face-to-face contacts, to inform the development of tailored research and interventions, which address lights and shadows of the technology use, and which take into account the necessity to enhance its potentials yet without impairing students' motivation and psychological health

Redefining Harmonisation. Lessons from EU Insolvency Law

Providing a definition of the concept of harmonisation within the context of the European Union, this timely book debunks the idea that EU harmonisation measures are made behind closed doors in Brussels and imposed, top-down, on the Member States. Offering an in-depth exploration of the concept of harmonisation through the lens of European Insolvency Law, the book will be an insightful read for students and legal scholars interested in EU law and the law-making process

The EU incremental approach to cross-border insolvency regulation: a critical analysis

Evaluates the quality of the EU's incremental initiatives concerning cross-border insolvency and rescue. Considers key provisions of Regulation 1346/2000, the 2014 recommendations for reforming restructuring, the extended scope of Regulation 2015/848 and current proposals on preventive restructuring. Discusses key elements of the EU's incrementalist approach, and the extent to which it demonstrates co-operation and convergence

Redefining Harmonisation. Lessons from EU Insolvency Law

Providing a definition of the concept of harmonisation within the context of the European Union, this timely book debunks the idea that EU harmonisation measures are made behind closed doors in Brussels and imposed, top-down, on the Member States. Offering an in-depth exploration of the concept of harmonisation through the lens of European Insolvency Law, the book will be an insightful read for students and legal scholars interested in EU law and the law-making process