On February 29, 2012, the United States District Court for the District of Delaware issued its Amended Standing Order of Reference. The Order provides that, to the extent that a bankruptcy judge or district judge determines that the bankruptcy judge is not authorized by Article III of the Constitution to enter a final order in a given proceeding determined to be a core matter, the bankruptcy judge, “unless otherwise ordered by the district court,” shall proceed to hear the proceeding and submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law to the district court. Should the district court determine that the bankruptcy judge could not have entered a final order or judgment consistent with Article III of the Constitution, the district court can treat the order of the bankruptcy court as proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law.

The District Court’s Order mirrors the Amended Standing Order of Reference entered by the Southern District of New York on January 31, 2012 and is intended to address the questions raised over bankruptcy jurisdiction following the Supreme Court’s decision in Stern v. Marshall.

A copy of the District Court’s order is available here.