Haig said recent global insolvencies were giving rise to a global argument.

He said that, in this debate, there was 'room for international insolvency standards'.

'There should be ground rules where big corporates can bring in international standards,' he said. 'There have been cases where you've had wholly-owned subsidiaries of US companies in the UK getting into trouble because of what happened to their parent.'

Although most insolvency experts agree that international insolvency standards would be a good idea, some say they are impossible to achieve.

Simon Freakley, global head of Kroll's Corporate Advisory & Restructuring Group, said: 'To try and get a global standard is Alice in Wonderland stuff.'

John Verrill, president-elect of R3, the insolvency trade body, agreed.

'International standards will be impossible because some legislation is important in some countries whilst it's trivial in others,' he said.

The issue of cross-border insolvencies has been preying on the minds of insolvency practitioners since the 1960s, when the first attempts were made by European countries to harmonise legislation.