ASEAN Cross-Border Insolvency Framework: Harmonizing UNCITRAL Principles and Debt Benchmark Innovation

DOI

10.2991/978-94-6239-785-9_45How to use a DOI?

Keywords

Bankruptcy; Law; ASEAN; UNCITRAL

Abstract

The acceleration of ASEAN economic integration has intensified cross-border insolvency disputes, yet legal fragmentation endures due to divergent regimes and uneven adoption of international standards. Previous scholarship has largely emphasized the UNCITRAL Model Law at the global level. In contrast, this study advances a regional innovation by proposing an ASEAN Cross-Border Insolvency Framework tailored to Southeast Asia’s hybrid legal environment. Using normative-juridical and comparative methods across five jurisdictions (Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, and the Philippines), the research identifies substantive and procedural gaps, including inconsistent recognition of foreign proceedings, lack of reciprocal enforcement, and insufficient digital cooperation mechanisms. The novelty of this study lies in two contributions. First, it formulates a framework that integrates UNCITRAL’s four pillars: access, recognition, cooperation, and coordination into ASEAN’s institutional structure, balancing harmonization with national sovereignty. Second, it introduces a regional debt benchmark (~USD 22,000) as a harmonized threshold for creditor claims, derived from average minimum debt standards of ASEAN states. This analytical tool, absent in prior literature, aligns creditor access, prevents frivolous petitions, and promotes fairness. Findings reveal that while Singapore, the Philippines, and, more recently, Myanmar have adopted elements of the Model Law, most ASEAN jurisdictions remain tied to territorial regimes, resulting in inefficiencies, creditor inequality, and forum shopping risks. As an additional safeguard, the framework stipulates that a debtor’s domestic assets must be exhausted before creditors may enforce claims abroad. This requirement prevents overlapping claims, reinforces the principle of center of main interests (COMI), and ensures balanced creditor protection. To address these challenges, the study recommends regional standardization through reciprocal recognition, adoption of automatic stay provisions, and strengthened court-to-court communication supported by digital platforms. By linking theoretical harmonization with policy-oriented solutions, this research enhances legal certainty and creditor protection while positioning ASEAN as a globally competitive region with a transparent, stable, and investor-friendly insolvency regime.

Copyright

© 2026 The Author(s)

Open Access

Open Access This chapter is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits any noncommercial use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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TY  - CONF
AU  - Ida Nadirah
AU  - Muhammad Hendry Devano
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/10/07
TI  - ASEAN Cross-Border Insolvency Framework: Harmonizing UNCITRAL Principles and Debt Benchmark Innovation
BT  - Proceedings of the UUM 13th International Legal Conference 2025 (UUMILC 2025)
PB  - Atlantis Press
SP  - 649
EP  - 665
SN  - 2667-128X
UR  - https://doi.org/10.2991/978-94-6239-785-9_45
DO  - 10.2991/978-94-6239-785-9_45
ID  - Nadirah2026
ER  -