This paper explores the problems and processes that led to the birth of consumer bankruptcy in continental Europe, a process that began in Denmark in January 1972 and culminated with the adoption of the Danish consumer debt adjustment act, Gældssaneringslov, on May 9, 1984. While this law is...

In 2011, the World Bank initiated its first-ever examination of the policies and characteristics of effective insolvency systems for individuals (natural persons). This paper describes the two-year process that led to the publication of the World Bank's landmark Report on the Treatment of the...

For nearly thirty years, legislators in Europe and South America have looked to mediation as a preferred mechanism for resolving the rising problem of personal overindebtedness. This reliance has generally been misplaced, as voluntary personal debt conciliation has most often ended in failure....

The first three years of operation of the new Russian personal bankruptcy procedure reveal a troubling flaw common to such new regimes: While the law on the books suggests a permissive and effective relief delivery procedure, the law in action has seen the vast majority of debtors barred from...

Despite its traditionally “tight” social and legal culture, Singapore recently loosened its personal bankruptcy rules significantly. This reform paralleled quite similar moves in the West in recent decades, but it represents a watershed in Asian regulation of the challenges of rising...