Irit Mevorach

Professor of International Commercial Law

Company Law; Insolvency Law; Cross-Border Insolvency; Private International Law; Bank Resolution; International Commercial Law; Corporate Groups; SMEs; Corporate, Insolvency Law and the Green Transition

School of Law
B1.13, Social Sciences Building
University of Warwick
Coventry CV4 7AL
United Kingdom

024 765 74564

Office hours Term 1 in person or online: Monday 15:00-16:00, Tuesday 13:00-14.00.

Scholarship

Professor Irit Mevorach is Chair in International Commercial Law in the School of Law, where she specialises in the intersection of company law, corporate governance, insolvency, and private international law concerning the array of businesses and institutions, from micro-enterprises to multinational groups and financial institutions. Using diverse methodologies her research seeks to identify systemic weaknesses and capacity gaps, focusing on directors’ duties, creditor-debtor regimes, business distress, and corporate insolvency, with particular attention to global standards and cross-border frameworks. Committed to law reform that reflects societal, environmental, and economic realities, she advocates for resilient, sustainable growth through sound policy and international cooperation. Irit is the author of Insolvency within Multinational Enterprise Groups (OUP, 2009) and The Future of Cross-Border Insolvency: Overcoming Biases and Closing Gaps (OUP, 2018), and co-author of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprise Insolvency: A Modular Approach (OUP, 2018) and Financial Institutions in Distress: Recovery, Resolution, Recognition (OUP, 2023). Her recent work advances proposals for embedding environmental considerations into insolvency systems and for strengthening parent company accountability in environmental activism, aligning corporate and insolvency law with sustainability goals. Irit's publications can be found here.

Bio

Professor Irit Mevorach is Chair in International Commercial Law in the School of Law. Before joining Warwick, Irit held a Chair at the University of Nottingham and was the founder and co-Director of the University of Nottingham Commercial Law Centre. Irit holds LLB and LLM degrees from Tel-Aviv University, and a PhD (UCL, London 2006). Between 1998-2003, she practised law at Lipa Meir & Co (Tel-Aviv, Israel). Since 2006, Irit has been acting as an expert adviser to the UK government's delegation to UNCITRAL (United Nations Commission on International Trade Law). In 2013, Irit was appointed Senior Counsel to the World Bank and headed the Bank's Global Initiative on Insolvency and Creditor/Debtor Regimes (2013-2015). In that capacity, she advised governments of some ten countries on reform of business and personal insolvency and creditor/debtor systems and headed the Bank's Global Task Force on Insolvency and Creditor Rights. Irit was awarded British Academy grants for her empirical and comparative research in the area of cross-border insolvency, and her academic and policy work has influenced law reform in Europe and globally. She was elected to the International Insolvency Institute (III) membership in 2012, was the co-Chair of the III academic wing between 2020-2023, a board member from 2023, and executive committee member, vice president from 2025. She has been elected to the American College of Bankruptcy (international fellow, from 2019), is a member of INSOL, ILA, CERIL, the IEEI, and the World Bank Task Force on Creditor-Debtor Regimes and Insolvency. Irit is on the Editorial Board of the Global Restructuring Review and the Spanish Journal of Insolvency and Restructuring, the International Advisory Council of the Singapore Global Restructuring Initiative (SGRI), the advisory board of the UNIDROIT-Queen Mary Institute of Transnational Commercial Law, she is co-Chair of subgroup III of UNIDROIT Working Group on Bank Liquidation, the UK Correspondent, Case Law on UNCITRAL Texts, and was appointed from 2020 to the Lord Chancellor's Committee on Private International Law.

Publications

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Books chapters

Riz Mokal, Stephan Madaus, Irit Mevorach, Ignacio Tirado ‘The Cramdown: A Conceptual Framework’ in Corporate Restructuring Law in Flux (Jennifer Payne and Kristin van Zwieten, eds) (Hart Publishing, 2025)
Irit Mevorach, ‘Scope of application’ in The UNCITRAL Model Laws on Cross-Border Insolvency and on the Recognition and Enforcement of Insolvency-Related Judgments, An Article-by-Article Commentary (Reinhard Bork and Michael Veder, eds) Elgar Commentaries in Corporate and Company Law (2025)
Irit Mevorach, ‘Definitions’ in The UNCITRAL Model Laws on Cross-Border Insolvency and on the Recognition and Enforcement of Insolvency-Related Judgments, An Article-by-Article Commentary (Reinhard Bork and Michael Veder, eds) Elgar Commentaries in Corporate and Company Law (2025)
Irit Mevorach, ‘International obligations of this State’ in The UNCITRAL Model Laws on Cross-Border Insolvency and on the Recognition and Enforcement of Insolvency-Related Judgments, An Article-by-Article Commentary (Reinhard Bork and Michael Veder, eds) Elgar Commentaries in Corporate and Company Law (2025)
Irit Mevorach, ‘Competent court of authority’ in The UNCITRAL Model Laws on Cross-Border Insolvency and on the Recognition and Enforcement of Insolvency-Related Judgments, An Article-by-Article Commentary (Reinhard Bork and Michael Veder, eds) Elgar Commentaries in Corporate and Company Law (2025)

Monographs and Journal Articles

Irit Mevorach ‘Environmental activism by parent companies: legal incentives and economic realities’ Journal of Corporate Law Studies (2025)
Janis Sarra, Stephan Madaus and Irit Mevorach, ‘The Greening of the Insolvency System’ (2025) 69: (3). 231. ISSN 0319-3322. (2025), 69 C.B.L.J. 231
Davis, Ronald, Madaus, Stephan, Marcucci, Monica, Mevorach, Irit, Mokal, Riz, Romaine, Barbara, Sarra, Janis, Tirado, Ignacio, 2023. Financial institutions in distress : recovery, resolution, recognition, Oxford University Press.
Mokal, Riz, Davis, Ronald, Mazzoni, Alberto, Mevorach, Irit, Romaine, Madam Justice Barbara, Sarra, Janis, Tirado, Ignacio, Madaus, Stephan, 2018. Micro, small, and medium enterprise insolvency : a modular approach, Oxford University Press.
Mevorach, Irit, 2018. The future of cross-border insolvency : overcoming biases and closing gaps, Oxford University Press.
Mevorach, Irit, 2009. Insolvency within multinational enterprise groups, Oxford University Press.

Teaching Projects

Highlighted

Cross-border insolvency and the 'rule in Gibbs'

International Insolvency Institute thought leadership project, co-lead with professor barrister Riz Mokal

Feeding into UK government consultation on the implementation of the UNCITRAL Model Law on Insolvency Related Judgments and implications on the rule in Gibbs

Insolvency Lawyer Association (ILA) Spring Webinar series- exploring the rule in Gibbs (April 2024) and panel discussion

(10 May 2024, Eversheds Sutherland, London)

Paper presentation at Insolvency Service annual conference (‘X Marks the Cross-border Restructuring Spot? The Gibbs Past and the Model Laws Future’, University of Liverpool, 10 November 2023)

A Symposium on Financial Institutions in Distress Recovery, Resolution, Recognition

Co-hosted by: the International Insolvency Institute, UNIDROIT, University of British Columbia Law Faculty, Warwick Law School, Istituto per la Vigilanza sulle Assicurazioni (IVASS), UNIDROIT-Queen Mary Institute of Transnational Commercial Law

This Symposium would discuss the timely topic of financial institutions in distress, and consider its relevance to the wide range of financial institution types, sizes, and structures. It will also discuss new ideas for creating an international framework for cross-border resolution in the form of a model law, explored in the project ‘A Framework for Cross-Border Resolution of Financial Institutions’ funded by the III’ and analysed in detail in the book Financial Institutions in Distress: Recovery, Resolution, Recognition (Oxford University Press 2023). It will be an opportunity to debate key issues, including the importance of a coherent framework, not just for systemically important banks, the path to a model law (and obstacles in this respect), and the importance of clear safeguards. The Symposium will be held at UNIDROIT on 20 October 2023.

Transnational project on cross-border bank resolution

A Framework for Cross-Border Resolution of Financial Institutions (with Ronald Davis, Stephan Madaus, Monica Marccuci, Riz Mokal, Justice Barbara Romaine, Janis Sarra, Ignacio Tirado) (2018-2023)

Funded by the International Insolvency Institute

Monograph: Financial Institutions in Distress: Recovery, Resolution, Recognition (Oxford University Press 2023)

https://www.iiiglobal.org/

https://academic.oup.com/book/46820

Impact

Legislation

International Instruments: United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL)

Since 2006, Irit has been acting as an expert adviser to the UK government's delegation to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and in 2013-2016 she represented the World Bank at the Commission, in deliberations in the areas of insolvency and cross-border insolvency. In that capacity she has influenced international policy and reform in the areas of insolvency, cross-border insolvency, and the intersection of company and insolvency law, including the development of the following international instruments:

UNCITRAL Model Law on Enterprise Group Insolvency with Guide to Enactment (2019)

UNCITRAL Model Law on Recognition and Enforcement of Insolvency-Related Judgments with Guide to Enactment (2018)

Guide to Enactment and Interpretation (2013) of UNCITRAL Model Law on Cross-Border Insolvency (1997)

UNCITRAL Legislative Guide on Insolvency Law, Part three: Treatment of enterprise groups in insolvency (2010)

Part four: Directors' obligations in the period approaching insolvency (including in enterprise groups) (2019)

Part five: Insolvency law for micro- and small enterprises (2021)

Ongoing projects:

Asset Tracing and Recovery in Insolvency Proceedings (see also Article:

Chasing assets abroad: ideas for more effective asset tracing and recovery in cross-border insolvency

International Insolvency Review, 32 (2), pp. 253-288 (2023) (with Janis Sarra and Stephan Madaus))

Applicable law in Insolvency Proceedings

[Engagements in some of the projects above have been funded by ESRC Impact Acceleration Fund]

International Instrument: Institute for the Unification of Private Law (UNIDROIT)

From 2020-ongoing Irit co-chairs sub-group III and participates as Working Group member and in the Drafting Committee of UNIDROIT Working Group on Bank Insolvency, which developed the instrument:

Draft Legislative Guide on Bank Liquidation (Consultation)

Policy

Since 2006, Irit has been acting as an expert adviser to the UK government's delegation to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) and in 2013-2016 she represented the World Bank at the Commission, in deliberations in the areas of insolvency and cross-border insolvency. In that capacity she has influenced international reform in the areas of insolvency, cross-border insolvency, and the intersection of company and insolvency law.

In 2013, Irit was appointed Senior Counsel to the World Bank and headed the Bank's Global Initiative on Insolvency and Creditor/Debtor Regimes (2013-2015). In that capacity, she advised governments of some ten countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and the Caribbean on reform of business and personal insolvency and creditor/debtor systems. She has written various reports including ROSCs (Reports on Observance of Standards and Codes). Irit also headed the World Bank's Global Task Force on Insolvency and Creditor Rights. After 2015 Irit continued to consult the World Bank, conducted training and advice in projects involving emerging markets.

From 2018 Irit is the UK Correspondent, Case Law on UNCITRAL Texts (CLOUT)

From 2020 Irit is co-Chair of UNIDROIT sub-group III, member of the Working Group on Bank Liquidation, and of the Drafting Committee

From 2020 Irit is a member of the Ministry of Justice Private International Law Committee

In 2020 Irit was appointed to UK Office for Science Covid-19 Recovery Trade and Aid Working Group which synthesized evidence against research questions that departments should consider in the medium to long term recovery from the COVID-19 emergency. UK Office for Science, Covid-19 Recovery Trade and Aid Working Group (2020), Final Report, Rebuilding a Resilient Britain: Trade and Aid

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/60379291d3bf7f03967d33fc/ARI_Summary.pdf

2021-2022 Cape Town Convention, advisory (“coffee table”) group assisting in amendments of the Convention’s Official Commentary

Professional Practice International Organisations

UNIDROIT Working Group on Bank Insolvency, co-Chair of subgroup III, Drafting Committee (2020- present)

UNCITRAL Working Group V (Insolvency Law): advisor to UK delegation (2006-present); World Bank representative (2013-2015); Expert Group member (2013- present); UK Correspondent, Case Law on UNCITRAL Texts (CLOUT) (2018-present).

World Bank: Senior Counsel, Head of Insolvency and Creditor-Debtor regime initiative and Head of World Bank insolvency global task force (2013-2015)

Consultant (2015- present). Author and co-author of World Bank Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes (2013-2015)

FSB (Financial Stability Board) Resolution Legal Expert Group, World Bank expert advisor (2014-2015)

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, Consultant (2004)

Research Supervision