Since 2018, BWILC has been growing an international unique collection of books and other printed publication in the field of restructuring and insolvency law. This collection has been made physically available at the Leiden Law School’s library.

The core of the book collection is comprised of the private book collections of Prof. Em. Bob Wessels, Prof. Ian Fletcher, and Gabriel Moss QC.

In addition, the foundation is pleased with various books donated by researchers, including from those having presented at the BWILC PhD Workshop.


Bob Wessels Insolvency Law Collection

Prof. Em. Bob Wessels (1949) has been a part time professor from 1988 to 2014 at the Vrije University Amsterdam and at the University of Leiden. He has over 45 years business law experience, the last two decades as an independent counsel, acting as an expert witness in courts in over ten jurisdictions and as (international) arbitrator, mainly in the area of contract law, restructuring and insolvency law. He has been a consultant to the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. From 1988-2016 has served as Deputy Justice at the Court of Appeal The Hague. Since 2010 he has been independent Expert Counsel to the European Commission in matters of restructuring and insolvency law and since 2016 he is Chairman of the independent European think tank Conference of European Restructuring and Insolvency Law.

In 2016, Prof. Wessels donated his personal library, with books, magazines, and papers to the newly founded BWILC.

Ian Fletcher Insolvency Law Collection

Prof. Ian Fletcher was professor of Commercial Law at Queen Mary, University of London and from 1994-2000 Director of the Centre for Commercial Law Studies. Later he became professor of International Commercial Law at University College London. In 1971 he was called to the Bar by Lincoln’s Inn, of which he was elected as a Bencher in 2003 and he was an Academic Member of South Square Chambers, Gray’s Inn. He is the author of many articles and books, including the well-known The Law of Insolvency, 5th ed., 2017. Internationally he belonged to the prominent and leading academics in the field of cross border insolvency and private international law. He was the Chair of the INSOL International Academics’ Colloquium since its formation in 1993 and organised some twenty international academic conferences covering the field of insolvency, restructuring and related matters till he stepped down in 2015. From 1992-2016 he was the editor-in-chief of the INSOL International Insolvency Review.

Prof. Fletcher was a founding board member of BWILC in 2016. Upon his passing in 2018, his books on insolvency law have been kindly donated to the collection.

Gabriel Moss Insolvency Law Collection

Gabriel Moss QC was called to the bar in 1974 and appointed Queen’s Counsel in 1989. For over 30 years, his professional home was 3⁄4 South Square. Evidently, he had a remarkable career in England. He was a specialist in UK and European international insolvency and restructuring law, as well as companies, banking, and financial services law. He appeared in many commercial chancery cases (e.g. Nortel, Madoff, Iceland banks, Olympic Airways) as well as in major offshore litigation. He also sat part-time as a Deputy High Court Judge of the Chancery Division of the High Court of England and Wales from 2001. He was a part-time Visiting Professor in Corporate Insolvency Law at Oxford University, and also a member of the Editorial Board of the International Insolvency Review.

Upon his passing in 2019, his collection of insolvency books have been kindly donated to the collection.