Dr. Gert-Jan Boon is Assistant Professor of Company and Insolvency law at the Department of Company and Financial Law at the Leiden Law School (Leiden University, the Netherlands). He conducts research in the field of national and international restructuring and insolvency law, and defended a dissertation on the Debtor in Possession. Gert-Jan has a background in both business studies, holding a master degree in Marketing (Free University Amsterdam), and in law, with a master degree in Corporate Law (Leiden University). He has gained practical experience in both the legal practice as well as the commercial research practice. At Leiden University he teaches courses in (international) corporate and insolvency law in the bachelor, master and advanced master programmes.  Gert-Jan was nominated by Global Restructuring Review as international insolvency academic of the year (2025). He publishes in Dutch and international journals. In addition, he has (co-)authored and (co-)edited several books, including on the Debtor in Possession in US, EU and Dutch restructuring and insolvency laws, soft law instruments in cross-border insolvency law (together with Bob Wessels) en European Preventive Restructuring Laws. Furthermore, he has participated in various research projects for and/or funded by Dutch and international research and professional institutions, including the European Commission, the European Law Institute, INSOL Europe and the International Insolvency Institute. He is the secretary/treasurer of the European think tank Conference on European Restructuring and Insolvency Law (CERIL) and the Foundation Bob Wessels Insolvency Law Collection (BWILC).

More information about Gert-Jan Boon

Gert-Jan Boon LL.M. MSc is a researcher and lecturer at the departments of Company Law and Financial Law and Business Studies at Leiden Law School. Prior to this, he completed his master's degree in Marketing (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam) and Corporate Law (Leiden University). He conducts research in the field of turnaround, rescue and insolvency among financially distressed businesses. His research has a strong European/international character.

For his dissertation, Gert-Jan studies the Debtor-in-Possession in restructuring of distressed businesses. The working title of his PhD research is 'On the rescue of businesses in distress: a study of the Debtor in Possession'.

Gert-Jan is also involved in various international research projects, including:

• Judicial Co-Operation supporting Economic Recovery in Europe (JCOERE) project, 2019-2020 (a project aiming to enhance judicial co-operation under the Recast Insolvency Regulation (EU 2015/848) supporting preventive restructuring (rescue) processes for European businesses);
• European Law Institute (ELI), Rescue of Business in Insolvency Law, 2017 (as member of the project team, together with Emeritus Professor Bob Wessels and Professor Stephan Madaus, Gert-Jan was involved in this study on (elements of) a legal framework that enables the further  development of coherent and functional rules for  business rescue in Europe. It resulted in the ELI Business Rescue Report, comprising around 115 recommendations, which was adapted unanimously by ELI in 2017 and published in 2020 by OUP);
• EU Court-to-Court Insolvency Cooperation Principles, 2015 (developing Principles and Guidelines for cooperation by European judges in cross-border insolvency cases, this project is co-financed by the European Union and the International Insolvency Institute);
• INSOL Europe, Statement of Principles and Best Practices for Insolvency Office Holders in Europe, 2014 (developing Principles and Best Practices as a European code of conduct for Insolvency Practitioners, a project initiated by INSOL Europe);
• INSOL Europe, Guidelines for Out-of-Court Restructuring and Turnaround Professionals, 2015 (developing a code of conduct for restructuring and turnaround professionals in Europe, a project initiated by INSOL Europe).

Gert-Jan is a member of the Business & Law Research Network (BLRN) and the TRI Leiden research team. He is also a fellow of the European Law Institute (ELI), Adjunct Secretary of the Conference on European Restructuring and Insolvency Law (CERIL), Chair of the INSOL Europe Younger Academics Network of Insolvency Law (YANIL) and Board member of the INSOL Europe Academic Forum (IEAF). In addition, on behalf of ELI, he attends meetings of Working Group V (insolvency) of the United Nations Committee on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL) as an observer.

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