mere statement that the bankruptcy issues are not arbitrable. ( 2) Yet, there are more points of interaction between these two fields of law As rightly stated in the literature, '[]egislation on insolvency is a crossroads where elements of the Legal system in question meet (3)Insolvency laws usually provide for limitation of rights of the debtor and his creditors in order to efficiently pursue their basic principles. Furthermore, it may even limit the rights of third parties. It is outside the scope of this article to examine whether and to what extent insolvency law influences arbitration and to address various points of interaction between the two fields of law. (4) This article will rather concentrate on the claims of non-secured, non-preferred creditors against the debtor,'s estate. In particular these are the claims arising from a contractual relationship between the debtor and another party concluded before the commencement of bankruptcy proceedings, where the contract provided for the settlement of disputes by arbitration. (5) In this article, an attempt will be made to determine whether an arbitration agreement, concluded prior to the co ement of insolvency proceedings, may be successfully invoked against the trustee in bankruptcy when the dispute relates to a monetary claim against the estate. In other words. the issue of the so-called indirect enforcement will be addressed. the relevant provisions of the insolvency law relating to legal proceedings pending at the time of the commencement of insolvency will also be considered and an attempt will be made to determine their importance for pending arbitral proceedings. Accordingly, the emphasis will be on the nature of the claims of ordinary bankruptcy creditors, encompassing situations when arbitral proceedings with respect to such claims are pending and when arbitration has not yet been commenced at the time when the insolvency proceedings are embarked upon. These issues will be analysed taking consideration the relevant provisions in Dutch, French and US arbitration and insolvency law. urpose is to determine to what extent the solutions in these jurisdictions differ or converge The relevant issues will be considered, in principle, in the context of the so-called'straight bankruptcy' or bankruptcy liquidation, while the insolvency proceedings involving the arrangements with creditors(compositions, reorganizations) will be mentioned only when the provisions addressed apply to both bankruptcy liquidation and reorganization This is particularly the case in france and the United States The issues of cross-border insolvency will not be dealt with. They will be occasionally mentioned when the relevant case law involves such issues 2. Insolvency and arbitration: main features and basic principles 2. 1 Insolvency law In the most general terms, one of the basic purposes of insolvency law is to provide a framework for dealing with the competing interests and claims within a given system of ranking. The manner in which the competing interests are balanced is not necessarily identical in all insolvency laws. Itmere statement that the bankruptcy issues are not arbitrable.(2) Yet, there are more points of interaction between these two fields of law. As rightly stated in the literature, '[l]egislation on insolvency is a crossroads where all the elements of the Legal system in question meet'.(3) Insolvency laws usually provide for some limitation of rights of the debtor and his creditors in order to efficiently pursue their basic principles. Furthermore, it may even limit the rights of third parties. It is outside the scope of this article to examine whether and to what extent insolvency law influences arbitration and to address various points of interaction between the two fields of law.(4) This article will rather concentrate on the claims of non-secured, non-preferred creditors against the debtor's estate. In particular, these are the claims arising from a contractual relationship between the debtor and another party concluded before the commencement of bankruptcy proceedings, where the contract provided for the settlement of disputes by arbitration.(5) In this article, an attempt will be made to determine whether an arbitration agreement, concluded prior to the commencement of insolvency proceedings, may be successfully invoked against the trustee in bankruptcy when the dispute relates to a monetary claim against the estate. In other words, the issue of the so-called 'indirect enforcement' will be addressed. The relevant provisions of the insolvency law relating to legal proceedings pending at the time of the commencement of insolvency will also be considered and an attempt will be made to determine their importance for pending arbitral proceedings. Accordingly, the emphasis will be on the nature of the claims of ordinary bankruptcy creditors, encompassing situations when arbitral proceedings with respect to such claims are pending and when arbitration has not yet been commenced at the time when the insolvency proceedings are embarked upon. These issues will be analysed taking into consideration the relevant provisions in Dutch, French and US arbitration and insolvency law. The purpose is to determine to what extent the solutions in these jurisdictions differ or converge. The relevant issues will be considered, in principle, in the context of the so-called 'straight bankruptcy' or bankruptcy liquidation, while the insolvency proceedings involving the arrangements with creditors (compositions, reorganizations) will be mentioned only when the provisions addressed apply to both bankruptcy liquidation and reorganization. This is particularly the case in France and the United States. The issues of cross-border insolvency will not be dealt with. They will be occasionally mentioned when the relevant case law involves such issues. 2. Insolvency and arbitration: Main features and basic principles 2.1 Insolvency law In the most general terms, one of the basic purposes of insolvency law is to provide a framework for dealing with the competing interests and claims within a given system of ranking. The manner in which the competing interests are balanced is not necessarily identical in all insolvency laws. It