The Richard Turton Award

R3 is proud to be a partner in the Richard Turton Award, which provides an opportunity for an insolvency and restructuring professional aged 35 or under from a developing nation to publish a paper on an issue relating to the profession, and present it at INSOL Europe Congress as a guest of the Associations.

The award is presented in memory of Richard Turton, an insolvency practitioner who played a key role in the formation of R3, INSOL, INSOL Europe and the Insolvency Practitioners’ Association, in recognition of his contribution to the profession and his role in the creation of the associations.

We invite applications from any person who:

• Is a national of a developing or emerging market country;
• Works in or studies in the field of insolvency and restructuring law and practice*;
• Is under 35 years of age.

*Students satisfying the nationality requirement, but studying in another country, are also eligible to apply.

The successful applicant will:

• Be invited to attend the INSOL Europe Congress in Vilamoura, Portugal on 15-18 October 2026, all expenses paid.
• Write a paper of 3,000 words on a subject of insolvency and turnaround agreed with the panel. This paper will be published in summary in one or more of the four member associations’ journals and in full on their websites.
• Be recognised at the congress and receive a framed certificate of the Richard Turton Award.

For more information on the Richard Turton Award please contact Jelena Wenlock at [email protected].

Richard Turton Award Winner 2025

2025 winner: Dorjana Xhamaqi 

The winner of the 2025 Richard Turton award is Dorjana Xhamaqi from Albania, who is a licensed attorney and court-appointed bankruptcy administrator for insolvency proceedings. Dorjana is currently working as a legal adviser for a commercial company, as well as a legal consultant in bankruptcy cases handled in court. As part of her continued professional journey, she has recently completed mediation training and is expected to graduate in this field later this year.

Dorjana has written a paper on Bankruptcy and its psychological impact on individuals, seeking to provide a deeper understanding of the human experience following financial collapse and to propose new ways to support individuals through this challenging process. Click here to read the full paper.

As part of the award, Dorjana attended the INSOL Europe conference in Vienna, Austria in October this year.

Nicky Fisher from R3 was part of the judging panel, which included representatives from INSOL Europe, INSOL International and the IPA.

Congratulations to Dorjana and many thanks to all those who applied for the award this year.

Past Winners

2024: Emily Onyango -  Financing Corporate Rescue in Kenya: The Case for a Corporate Rescue Fund

2023: Marinela Majnova - Consumer Bankruptcy and the Western Balkan Countries: why do they need it?

2022: Kayode Olude - Quest for EU harmonisation of cross-border insolvency rules between EU and Non-EU countries; challenges and prospects.

2021: Abbas Abbasov - Protection of dissenting creditors' interests: Direct application of the "substantive fairness" test while considering the recognition of foreign restructuring plans 

2020: Carla Cervantes - Necessary reforms: Adaptation of insolvency regimes in Latin America due to the crisis

2019: Odwa Ngxingo - Attitudes towards investing capital in restructuring and turnaround situations, and the multiplier effects deriving therefrom

2018: Yutong Zhang - Blockchain: A Chance for Turnaround Procedure Modernization

2017: Bingdao Wang - Belt and Road: Is it an Opportunity for a Regional Insolvency Solution?

2016: Róbert Muzsalyi - Directors' liability: what should be the minimum harmonisation in the EU?

2015: Waiswa Abudu-Salam - Insolvency Proceedings: A double Edged Debt Collection Tool

2014: Anant Khandelwal - The Phenomenon of Corporate Debt Restructuring in India: How Far Can It Go To Prevent Insolvency?

2013: Danuta Brzezinska - Actio Pauliana of the bankruptcy receiver within or outside the bankruptcy proceedings?

2012: Edvins Draba - Modernizing Insolvency Law in Latvia:

2011: leva Baranauskaite - The Growing Business phenomenon of "Fraudulent Bankruptcy"

2010: Maurycy Organa - Abuse of insolvency proceedings in Poland by a creditor to exert pressure on the debtor. Remedies for the entity declared bankrupt as a result of a malicious motion

2009: Yana Hankovic - The Legal Position of an Assignee in Assignor's Insolvency

2008: Tang Liangyuian - New Issues in Chinese Enterprise Bankruptcy Law

2007: Yanna Bakulina - Protection of Employees' Rights in Insolvency

2006: Jelena Marjanovic - Bankruptcy of Socially Owned Enterprises in Republic of Serbia

2005: Lavinia-Olivia Aspru - The Liability Regime in the Insolvency Procedure from Romania