Jevgenia Altunian receives science grant from the Cultuurfonds to study at New York University

Jevgenia Altunian will be conducting research at New York University for six months. This stay is made possible in part by a Science Grant from the Cultuurfonds.

Conflict between environmental interests and private interests

A healthy living environment is of great importance to society. Climate and sustainability issues regularly dominate public and political debate. However, when environmental interests conflict with private interests, such as maximising returns for creditors in bankruptcy proceedings, the question arises as to which interest should ultimately prevail.

This tension also arises at the intersection of environmental law and insolvency law, especially in situations where environmental obligations are not complied with during bankruptcy due to limited financial resources or uncertainty about liability.

PhD research

Altunian is conducting PhD research into the legal challenges that arise when insolvency law, which is aimed at protecting creditors, intersects with public law obligations, such as environmental obligations that serve the public interest.

The research takes a comparative law approach and aims to provide insight into how a trustee should act when insolvency law and public law interests conflict.

In New York, she will study the American approach to this issue.