Article by Edward M. Keech
The bankruptcy of a steamship company is fundamentally different from a bankruptcy on land both because its primary assets travel around the world and because of the interplay of maritime law and jurisdiction. In particular, the bankruptcy of an international steamship company involves the unpredictable nature of international recognition of foreign court orders and judgments due to the conflict between a nation's interest in furthering international relations and its own national sovereign interests.
In 1978, as part of its overall reform of United States bankruptcy laws, Congress enacted section 304 of the Bankruptcy Code to facilitate international bankruptcy administration by granting foreign bankruptcy representatives special access to American bankruptcy courts. This paper explores the issues particular to an international steamship company bankruptcy and examines the effect of section 304 on the resolution of these conflicts. The paper suggests that far greater uniformity in international bankruptcy law and administrative policies is needed. At the present time, the liquidation of an international steamship company is extremely difficult and the reorganization of such a company in bankruptcy may not be possible.
About the Author
Edward M. Keech. Partner, Lillick, McHose & Charles, San Francisco, California; A.B. 1965, Harvard University; J.D. 1970, Stanford University.
Citation
59 Tul. L. Rev. 1239 (1985)