The Jet Airways Case As A Test Of India’s Cross Border Legal Readiness
- IJLLR Journal
- Jan 27
- 2 min read
Mahi Sharma, MIT WPU, Pune
ABSTRACT
A major cross-border insolvency issue has been at the heart of the problems of the globalized aviation sector, which is characterized by multinational financing, foreign lessors, and international operational networks, thus making legal dependencies quite complex. When Jet Airways, the largest private fleet of India at that time, went down, the situation was so grim that it brought the issues to the forefront. India and the Netherlands saw the simultaneous unfolding of insolvency proceedings. It was also the first moment of "cross-border insolvency cooperation" interaction in India and challenged the domestic lawyers' system's ability to work without a comprehensive legislative framework based on the UNCITRAL Model Law. This seminar paper investigates the court and other participating institutions' improvisation and flexibility in handling Jet Airways insolvency, thus making it a judicial cooperation experiment laboratory. It also appraises the novel communication and cooperation established by the NCLT and NCLAT with the Dutch insolvency teams through agreements, acknowledgment of foreign proceeding, and modified universalism.
The article elaborates on the disjointed Indian cross-border insolvency system history and the way in which Jet Airways scandal led to the exposure of structural holes and the problem of prioritizing the creditors' claims in foreign countries. In addition to this, it examines different international practices, the influence of the principles of comity, and the operational limitations faced by multinational airlines that are in insolvency. Based on these, the authors conclude that the Indian judiciary showed creativity and willingness, yet the system is still reliant on spontaneous judicial decisions in the absence of clear statutory provisions. Finally, the study proposes the introduction of a harmonized legal framework that would ensure fairness between foreign and domestic creditors, conform India's legal standards to the global best practices, and more.
