Carly Baas winner of the BUREN Thesis Award for Insolvency Law 2023

This year, in cooperation with Celsus Juridische Uitgeverij, BUREN presented the BUREN Thesis Award for Insolvency Law for the sixth time for the best thesis in the field of insolvency law. This year's award ceremony took place at our office in The Hague on 29 November this year. The winner of the BUREN Thesis Award for Insolvency Law 2023 is Carly Baas with the thesis, 'The desirability of gifting in light of the absolute priority rule', written at the Erasmus University.

Nominees
A total of four theses were nominated for the thesis award. In addition to Carly Baas' thesis, these were the following:

• the thesis ‘The curator's power of inquiry. The odd duck?', written at Radboud University, by Danique Laeyendecker;
• the thesis 'Enhancing Unsecured Creditors Protection in Indonesia: Analyses on The Best-Interest-of-Creditors Test and The Fairness Test', written at Leiden University, by Chrisandya Sinurat;
• the thesis 'The hinge point between liquidation and continuation of company: viewpoints devalued', written at Erasmus University, by Serge van der Slot.

The jury report
The title of Carly's thesis, 'The desirability of gifting in the light of the absolute priority rule' needs some explanation at festivities, but it is immediately clear to the insolvency lawyer who is invested into the WHOA that the thesis addresses an important question about the WHOA. The absolute priority rule was introduced into Dutch law with the WHOA. Because it is a new rule, it is not immediately clear how the rule should be applied. As the rule originates from the United States, it is therefore good to involve US law when interpreting the rule. Yet US law is not the end of all contradiction, as the Dutch rule looks different from the US one. In short: a complicated matter.

Carly understands the art of presenting this complicated matter in a structured and accessible way. The research is quite exhaustive, and a nuanced conclusion is drawn. In short, gifting is not a problem if all classes have agreed to the agreement, but it is more problematic if one or more classes have rejected the agreement. The recommendation is clear and well-tailored to the problem. The jury does not do gifting. Carly is not getting the award as a gift, but has really earned the award. Carly, congratulations on winning the thesis award!

Honorable mention
In addition, an honorable mention is due to the thesis of Chrisandya Sinurat, a graduate of the University of Leiden. The thesis provides a clear overview of creditor protection in the composition plan in Indonesian insolvency law. The thesis also makes clear what the best interest of creditors test and the fairness test can add to Indonesian law. The jury applauds the international and comparative law nature of this research on a relevant and timely topic. 

The jury
The jury consisted of prof. mr. H. Koster, Professor Company Law at Leiden University, mr. dr. H.J. de Kloe, assistant professor of Insolvency Law at Rotterdam University and M.J.H. Vermeeren, lawyer and partner restructuring and insolvency at BUREN.

Theses
Click here for the thesis of Carly Baas
Click here for the thesis of Danique Laeyendecker
Click here for the thesis of Chrisandya Sinurat
Click here for the thesis of Serge van der Slot