Countless businesses are experiencing the detrimental financial effects of COVID-19. According to forecasts, insolvency rates will reach new record highs and in some cases even exceed those of the 2009 financial crisis. A large proportion of such disputes could ultimately be subject to arbitration, as this is one of the most widely used means of dispute resolution in international commercial agreements. This could lead to an increase in the overlap between insolvency proceedings and arbitration. However, due to the inherently incompatible objectives of the two domains, combining arbitration agreements with subsequent insolvency proceedings may prove difficult.

The authors analyse this issue in their article "The Overlap Between Insolvency Proceedings and Arbitration: The Potential for Abuse and Inconsistent Results?" in Transnational Dispute Management (TDM), using a recent dispute between a Russian buyer and a Swiss seller. They outline the competing policy objectives of the two domains, discuss contrasting national approaches and finally assess compatibility in a transnational context.