Bankruptcy: A Fresh Start

1.    The Scope of the Review

This review of personal insolvency law in England and Wales is concerned principally with the extent to which a distinction might be drawn in its application to and effect on those individuals whose conduct in relation to their finances and their creditors has been responsible and above-board, and those who have behaved in an irresponsible fashion and thereby damaged the interests of their creditors. It is not therefore concerned to question the fundamental principles upon which bankruptcy law rests or, for the most part, the way in which those principles are put into practice. Its purpose has been to consider the economic and social impact of bankruptcy on the individual and to propose ways in which that impact might, over time, be changed so that the responsible use of credit, whether by those in business or by consumers, is encouraged, financial irresponsibility identified and more effectively sanctioned and responsible risk-taking promoted.