Scope of the competence of the European Union to regulate insolvency proceedings

Straipsnyje nagrinėjamos 2000 m. gegužės 29 d. Tarybos reglamento (EB) Nr. 1346/2000 dėl bankroto bylų rengimo ir priėmimo metu egzistavusios istorinės ir teisinės prielaidos, turėjusios įtakos pasirinktai reguliavimo dalyko apimčiai. Europos Sąjungos teisėkūros teisminio bendradarbiavimo su užsieniu susijusių civilinių bylų srityje šiuolaikinių tendencijų kontekste analizuojama Europos Sąjungai suteiktos kompetencijos reguliuoti bankroto bylas apimtis ir jos sampratos pokyčiai per devynerius metus po reglamento priėmimo. Keliama ir grindžiama hipotezė, kad Europos Sąjunga dar visa apimtimi neįgyvendino savo kompetencijos reguliuoti bankroto bylas, todėl tikėtina, kad ateityje šio reglamento reguliavimo dalykas bus išplėstas. Teisinės prielaidos tam yra pakankamos. Reguliavimo dalyko apimties pasirinkimą nulems ir politinė valia.At the European Union level, several aspects of insolvency procedure are regulated by Council regulation (EC) No 1346/2000 of 29 May 2000 on insolvency proceedings (further - Regulation 1346/2000). Cross-border insolvency procedure in this Regulation is regulated in a narrow scope - by determining rules of jurisdiction, applicable law and recognition of judgments. Only those aspects, which directly fall under European Union competence within the meaning of Articles 61 (c) and 65 of the Treaty (consolidated) establishing the European Community, are regulated. Regulation 1346/2000 allows a possibility of several concomitant insolvency procedures in different states. Tiil such system of insolvency proceedings exists, obstacles, which arise because of possibility to start insolvency cases in different states, are not fully eliminated. Objectives of Regulation 1346/2000 are not achieved fully too. Regulation 1346/2000 contains provisions on recognition of judgments in cross-border insolvency procedure and these provisions can be considered as simplified but not yet as embodying in full amount the concept of trust in courts of all member states. Several aspects of cross border insolvency procedure, regulated in Regulation 1346/2000, do not fall under European Union competence as it is explicitly expressed in Articles 61 (c) and 65 of the Treaty (consolidated) establishing the European Community. These aspects can be considered as reflecting the need of a wider harmonization of cross-border insolvency procedures at the European Union level. Almost nine years have passed after adoption of Regulation 1346/2000 and it is advisable to discuss, whether the chosen scope for regulating insolvency procedure meet nowadays needs, whether The European Union is competent to regulate insolvency procedure by covering more aspects then in Regulation 1346/2000? Such an analysis will be useful not only for doctrine, but also while preparing the position of The Republic of Lithuania regarding possible amendments of Regulation. Analysis of historical circumstance, which existed while drafting Regulation 1346/2000, as well as analysis of preparatory documents, show that drafting of Regulation 1346/2000 was performed without comprehensive discussions on the scope of the Competence of The European Union to regulate cross-border insolvency procedure. Recently, we have two examples of successful realization of initiatives to create "European procedure": European order for payment procedure and European small claims procedure. These two initiatives create the precedent for a broader interpretation of the scope of the European Union competence. Firstly, there are no doubts left, whether the Community has competence to regulate the whole procedure in certain kind of cases. Secondly, the question, whether the European Union has competence to regulate the procedure of purely national cases, is raised and left open. The analysis of tendencies of development and interpretation of provisions, which form legal base for Regulation 1346/2000, leads to a conclusion, that nowadays, unlike while drafting Regulation 1346/2000, the legal base for the European Union competence to regulate insolvency procedure by covering more aspects of it or to create the whole cross-border insolvency procedure at the European Union level is sufficient