Legal Regulation of Insolvency (Bankruptcy): a Brief Historical Digression

Abstract

The institution of insolvency (bankruptcy) is known to all modern legal systems, regardless of the specifics of the economic formation. The bankruptcy mechanisms implemented in the Russian Federation are not effective enough, while the number of bankruptcy cases is steadily growing. Further reform of the institution of bankruptcy in the Russian Federation implies the need to study the historical experience of legal regulation of bankruptcy both in foreign countries and in pre-revolutionary Russia. All the main methods of scientific cognition, in particular historical and comparative methods, were used in the preparation of the article. The article examines the origin and evolution of the institution of bankruptcy (bankruptcy law), identifies the beginnings of bankruptcy law in Roman law, touches on its development in the legal systems of Italy, France, Germany, Great Britain, USA, Russia. The concepts of non-payment and insolvency are analyzed, as well as the ratio of the institutions of enforcement proceedings and competition law. Conclusions are formulated about the exclusivity of bankruptcy in terms of economic consequences, the need to distinguish commercial bankruptcy from consumer bankruptcy, the importance of the criterion of good faith in relation to the debtor and creditors.