The Oxford Business Law Blog Annual Conference

The Oxford Business Law Blog Annual Conference: 

Harmonization and Competition in Corporate and Insolvency Law

Within the Framework of the Savings and Investments Union

Jointly organized by:

BLEST – Bocconi Lab for European Studies

Bocconi University Angelo Sraffa Department of Legal Studies

European Corporate Governance Institute

IEP@BU – Institute for European Policymaking at Bocconi University

University of Oxford

Bocconi University, 7 November 2025

8:30 am - 4:30 pm

As the European Union seeks to advance its Savings and Investments Union, longstanding tensions between legal harmonization and regulatory competition have returned to the fore—particularly in the domains of corporate and insolvency law. While recent reform efforts have aimed to reduce fragmentation, member states retain considerable discretion, and cross-border mobility remains shaped by both convergence and arbitrage.

This conference examines the merits and limits of further integration in these areas, focusing on the evolving interaction between EU initiatives and national regimes. Special attention will be paid to the concept of the ‘28th regime’—optional, EU-level legal frameworks designed to coexist with national laws—as a possible template for future reform.

Bringing together scholars and practitioners from across Europe, the event will explore recent developments in corporate migration, post-Brexit forum shopping, and the prospects for a more coherent insolvency framework. The aim is not only to assess where the current system falls short, but also to identify workable paths forward that respect institutional diversity while promoting market efficiency.

Jointly organized by Bocconi University, ECGI, and the University of Oxford, the conference provides a timely forum for critical analysis of the EU’s legal architecture in a changing economic and political landscape.

Conference Agenda

Link to the ECGI event page is available here.