The understanding of the economic and legal structure of the institutions of bankruptcy has increased considerably over the past decade. This publication describes the state of current knowledge. Containing both theoretical studies and evidence from recent case studies, it shows the possibilities and methods of legal reform and the pitfalls of misguided political action.

This book is a comparative study of international practices in bankruptcy law, providing perspectives from a variety of specialisms including practitioners, lawyers, bankers, accountants and judges from the United Arab Emirates, the UK and Singapore.

International insolvencies are a common feature worldwide in business and finance sectors and the scale and frequency of such occurrences have caught the attention of many academics and commentators. Following on from the 2008 book, International Insolvency Law: Themes and Perspectives, this book presents up-to-date accounts of themes in the field of insolvency law. It deals with reforms in and challenges to the subject in relation to its comparative and international aspect. The cutting edge contributions include chapters from common law, civil and mixed traditions and have been conceived to increase awareness of the impact of insolvency law within domestic, regional and global contexts. Useful and thought-provoking, the chapters take an innovative approach and give new interpretations to hitherto available material. This book will be invaluable for those wishing to keep abreast of developments in jurisdictions representing all legal traditions and is a useful guide to the improvement and reform of insolvency laws and frameworks.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

Vanessa Finch provides an interesting look at corporate insolvency laws and processes. She adopts an interdisciplinary approach to place two questions at the centre of her discussion. Are current UK laws and procedures efficient, expert, accountable and fair? Are fundamentally different conceptions of insolvency law needed for it to develop in a way that serves corporate and broader social ends? Topics considered in this wide-ranging book include different ways of financing companies, causes of corporate failure and prospects for designing rescue-friendly processes. Also examined are alternative asset distribution of failed companies, allocations of insolvency risks and effects of insolvency on a company's directors and employees. Finch argues that changes of approach are needed if insolvency law is to develop with coherence and purpose. This book will appeal to academics and students at advanced undergraduate and graduate level, and to legal practitioners throughout the common law world.

Bankruptcy in America, in stark contrast to its status in most other countries, typically signifies not a debtor's last gasp but an opportunity to catch one's breath and recoup. Why has the nation's legal system evolved to allow both corporate and individual debtors greater control over their fate than imaginable elsewhere? Masterfully probing the political dynamics behind this question, David Skeel here provides the first complete account of the remarkable journey American bankruptcy law has taken from its beginnings in 1800, when Congress lifted the country's first bankruptcy code right out of English law, to the present day. Skeel shows that the confluence of three forces that emerged over many years--an organized creditor lobby, pro-debtor ideological currents, and an increasingly powerful bankruptcy bar--explains the distinctive contours of American bankruptcy law. Their interplay, he argues in clear, inviting prose, has seen efforts to legislate bankruptcy become a compelling battle royale between bankers and lawyers--one in which the bankers recently seem to have gained the upper hand. Skeel demonstrates, for example, that a fiercely divided bankruptcy commission and the 1994 Republican takeover of Congress have yielded the recent, ideologically charged battles over consumer bankruptcy. The uniqueness of American bankruptcy has often been noted, but it has never been explained. As different as twenty-first century America is from the horse-and-buggy era origins of our bankruptcy laws, Skeel shows that the same political factors continue to shape our unique response to financial distress.