This is a recent (November 2024) Supreme Court decision on foreign bankruptcy orders and their application to English real property. Interesting decision and of importance to consider in cross-border bankruptcy. The issues in this case are in relation to dealing with English real property and could have been solved by seeking an English bankruptcy order.

Key Takeaways:

  1. The “immovables rule”, that English real property does not fall under the jurisdiction of a foreign court, is here to stay.
  2. In re Kooperman [1928] WN 101 was wrongly decided.
  3. Modified universalism is subject to local law and local public policy.
  4. Public policy and practical considerations justify the rule’s continued existence.
  5. Further modification of the rule is left to Parliament.
  6. The issue could have been avoided if the bankruptcy order was applied for in England and Wales.

The Immovables Rule

“A court of a foreign country has no jurisdiction to adjudicate upon the title to, or the right to possession of, any immovable situated outside that country.”

Dicey, Morris and Collins, The Conflict of Laws, 16th Ed (2022)

Case Digest January 2025 No.1