Honorary Professor
Biography
Professor Riz Mokal is a barrister practising at the Bar of England and Wales from South Square at Grayâs Inn in London and is an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Aberdeen School of Law. He held the Chair of Law and Legal Theory at MyAV·¶ until 2016, was a Visiting Professor in Law at the University of Florence from 2015 to 2018, and was a Research Associate at Cambridge Universityâs Centre for Business Research from 2003 to 2007.
Over the past 25 years, Riz has researched, taught, and practised insolvency, property, and commercial law and legal theory, and has advised governments on law reform. He served as Senior Counsel to the World Bank and headed the Bank's Global Insolvency and Creditor/Debtor Initiative from 2009 to 2013, has been a member of the Bank's and subsequently the United Kingdom delegations to the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law, and belongs to several invitation-only international professional organisations. His work has influenced law reform in several jurisdictions and has been cited with approval by courts around the world.
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- Books
- Financial Institutions in Distress: Recovery, Resolution, and Recognition (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2023) co-authors: Ronald B Davis, Stephan Madaus, Monica Marcucci, Irit Mevorach, Riz Mokal, Barbara Romaine, Janis Sarra, and Ignacio Tirado
- The Insolvency of Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises â A Modular Approach (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2018) co-authors: Ronald B Davis, Stephan Madaus, Alberto Mazzoni, Irit Mevorach, Rizwaan Jameel Mokal, Barbara Romaine, Janis Sarra, and Ignacio Tirado
- Best Practices in European Restructuring â Contractualised Distress Resolution in the Shadow of the Law (Florence: Wolters Kluwer, 2018) co-authors: Lorenzo Stanghellini, Christoph Paulus, and Ignacio Tirado
- Corporate Insolvency Law â Theory and Application (Oxford: OUP, 2005)
- Book chapters
- Rizwaan Jameel Mokal and Daniel Lightman, âDuties and Liabilities of Administratorsâ, in Sir Gavin Lightman, Gabriel Moss, Ian Fletcher and Richard Snowden QC (eds.), The Law of Receivers and Administrators of Companies (London: Sweet & Maxwell, 2007)
- Daniel Lightman and Rizwaan Jameel Mokal, âDuties and Liabilities of Administrative Receivers, in Sir Gavin Lightman, Gabriel Moss, Ian Fletcher and Richard Snowden QC (eds.), The Law of Receivers and Administrators of Companies (London: Sweet & Maxwell, 2007)
- Robin Dicker QC, Adam Goodison, and Rizwaan Jameel Mokal, âVoluntary Arrangements (Companies)â, in Peter Totty and Gabriel Moss (eds.), Insolvency (London: Sweet & Maxwell, 2005)
- âThe Floating Charge â An Elegyâ, in Sarah Worthington (ed), Commercial Law and Commercial Practice (Oxford: Hart, 2003), 479-509
- Articles
The abstracts and âworking paperâ versions of several of the following can be found on the .
- Riz Mokal and Alfonso Nocilla, âRehabilitating the UK Pre-Pack: A Critical Analysis and Proposals for Reformâ (2024) 40(2) Banking and Finance Law ReviewÌę(ŽÚŽÇ°ùłÙłółŠŽÇłŸŸ±ČÔČ”) âWhat is an Insolvency Proceeding?â (2023) 38(4) Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial LawÌę234-235.
- âWhat is an Insolvency Proceeding? Gategroup lands in a Gated Communityâ (2022) 31(3) International Insolvency ReviewÌę418-473
- âDoes the Liquidator have a Duty to deal with Trust Property?â (2022) (5)Â Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial LawÌę313-318.
- âThe Courtâs Discretion in relation to the Part 26A Cram Downâ (2021) 1Â Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial LawÌę12-16
- âThe Two Conditions for the Part 26A Cram Downâ (2020) 11Â Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial LawÌę730-733
- âThe Difficulties with âFinancial Difficultiesââ (2020) 10Â Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial LawÌę662-664
- Riz Mokal and Ignacio Tirado, âHas Newton had his Day? Relativity and Realism in European Restructuringâ Eurofenix Autumn 2018 (English); a somewhat extended version published at the editorâs request in (2019) 4 Butterworths Journal of International Banking and Financial LawÌę233-235
- âShopping and Scheming, and the Rule in Gibbsâ (2017), South Square DigestÌę58-63
- âLiquidity, Systemic Risk, and the Bankruptcy Treatment of Financial Contractsâ (2015) 10(1)Â Brooklyn Journal of Corporate, Financial and Commercial LawÌę15
- âWhat Liquidation Does for Secured Creditors, and What it Does for Youâ (2008) 71(5)Â Modern Law Review699
- âAt the Intersection of Property and Insolvencyâ (2008) 20 Singapore Academy of Law Journal 495
- âEncumbered Assets and the Statutory Trustâ (2008) 21(9) Insolvency Intelligence 129
- Look Chan Ho and Rizwaan Jameel Mokal, âBarber v CI: Preference Equals Undervalue?â (2006) 22(5) Insolvency Law & Practice 183-186; arguments discussed in the Court of Appeal, and approved obiter by Lady Justice Smith, in Re Sonatacus Ltd [2007] EWCA Civ 31
- Michael Crystal QC and Rizwaan Jameel Mokal, âThe Valuation of Distressed Companies: A Conceptual Framework â Part IIâ (2006) 3(3)Â International Corporate RescueÌę123-131
- Michael Crystal QC and Rizwaan Jameel Mokal, âThe Valuation of Distressed Companies: A Conceptual Framework â Part Iâ (2006) 3(2)Â International Corporate RescueÌę63-68
- Stephen Atherton QC and Rizwaan Jameel Mokal, âCharges over Chattels â Issues in the Fixed/Floating Jurisprudenceâ [2005] Company Lawyer 10-18; cited by Lord Walker in Re Spectrum Plus Ltd; National Westminster Bank plc v Spectrum Plus Ltd and others [2005] UKHL 41
- Rizwaan Jameel Mokal and Look Chan Ho, âThe Pari Passu Principle in English Ancillary Proceedings: Re Home Insurance Companyâ (2005) 21(6) Insolvency Law & PracticeÌę207-210
- âAdministrative Receivership and Administration â An Analysisâ [2004]Â Current Legal ProblemsÌę355-392
- John Armour and Rizwaan Jameel Mokal, âReforming the Governance of Corporate Rescue: The Enterprise Act 2002â [2005]Â Lloydâs Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly28-64
- âLiquidation Expenses and Floating Charges â The Separate Funds Fallacyâ [2004] Lloydâs Maritime and Commercial Law Quarterly 387-404; reprinted at (2005) 21(2) Insolvency Law & Practice 46-55; cited with approval by the Court of Appeal of New Zealand in In re Strategic Finance Ltd [2013] NZCA 357
- âThe Harm Done by Administrative Receivershipâ (2004) 1(5)Â International Corporate RescueÌę248-256
- Rizwaan Jameel Mokal and John Armour, âThe New UK Corporate Rescue Procedure â The Administratorâs Duty to Act Rationallyâ (2004) 1(3)Â International Corporate Rescue136-142
- âInterplay of Administration, Liquidation, and CVA â Part IIâ (2004) 25(2)Â Company LawyerÌę35-40
- Look Chan Ho and Rizwaan Jameel Mokal, âInterplay of Administration, Liquidation, and CVA â Part Iâ (2004) 25(1) Company LawyerÌę3-8
- âOn Fairness and Efficiencyâ [2003]Â Modern Law ReviewÌę452-467
- âThe Search for Someone to Save: A Defensive Case for the Priority of Secured Creditâ [2002]Â Oxford Journal of Legal StudiesÌę687-728
- âPriority as Pathology: The Pari Passu Mythâ [2001] Cambridge Law Journal 581-621; a central argument approved and adopted by Kirby J (dissenting, though not on this point) in the High Court of Australia in International Air Transport Association v Ansett Australia Holdings Limited [2008] HCA 3. Several of the arguments in this paper were also approved and adopted by the majority of the Court of Appeal of the Supreme Court of Victoria in Ansett Australia Holdings v International Air Transport Association [2006] VSCA 242. Also cited with approval by the Court of Appeal of Ontario in Re Nortel Corporation(2015) ONCA 681
- Rizwaan Jameel Mokal and Look Chan Ho, âCharacterisation, Consideration, Evaluation: Transactions at an Undervalue After Phillips v Brewin Dolphinâ [2001] Journal of Corporate Law StudiesÌę359-379
- âThe Authentic Consent Model: Contractarianism, Creditorsâ Bargain, and Corporate Liquidationâ [2001]Â Legal StudiesÌę400-443
- Look Chan Ho and Rizwaan Jameel Mokal, âBlowing Hot and Cold:Â Phillips v Brewin Dolphinâ (2001) 6Â Journal of International Banking and Financial LawÌę263-266
- âAn Agency Cost Analysis of the Wrongful Trading Provisions: Redistribution, Perverse Incentives, and the Creditorsâ Bargainâ [2000] Cambridge Law Journal 335-369; excerpts in Grantham and Rickett, Company and Securities Law: Commentary and Materials(Wellington: Brookers, 2002), 584-7
- âResolving the MS Fashions âParadoxââ [1999] Company Financial and Insolvency Law ReviewÌę106-113
- Policy documents
As part of his work at the World Bank, Riz co-authored several IMF/World Bank Reports on the Observance of Standards and Codes (âROSCsâ) on Insolvency and Creditor/Debtor Regimes. These diagnostic reports, usually confidential to the Government requesting them, provide analysis and recommendations for legislative and regulatory reform. ROSCs are based on analysis of legal and regulatory texts complemented by information derived from surveys and a comprehensive range of meetings with key public and private sector stakeholders, including those from the Ministries of Justice, Finance, and Economy; the Central Bank; senior judiciary; credit history and security interest registries; financial institutions; chambers of commerce and industry; and legal, in-solvency, audit, and financial consultancy professionals. ROSCs are peer-reviewed by World Bank specialists and international and/or national experts. The ROSCs co-authored by Riz include:
- Vietnam (2013)
- Romania (2013)
- Kenya (2013)
- Bangladesh (2013)
- Kosovo (2012)
- Russia (2012)
- Kuwait (2012)
- Mongolia (2012)
- Saudi Arabia (2010)
Other Co-authored World Bank Policy Documents:
- Vietnam â Restructuring of banking and state-owned enterprise sectors (2013)
- Ukraine â Assessment of and input into several draft statutes on debtor/creditor issues (2013)
- Kenya â Assessment of and input into Insolvency and Company Bills (2012)
- Croatia â Assessment of draft statute on credit claim enforcement (2012)
- Belarus â Restructuring of state-owned enterprise sector (2012) (Winner, World Bank Team Award)
- Latvia â Assessment of debt resolution legal and regulatory framework (2012)
- Pakistan â Assessment of draft Corporate Rehabilitation Bill (2010-2011)
- Turkey â Assessment of enterprise insolvency framework (2010)
- Egypt â Assessment of debt resolution legal and regulatory framework (2009)