In a nod to George Orwell (pictured) I have been using Google Analytics to monitor blog visitor activity. I have been doing this to enable a focusing of content towards the core readership. I hope this does not put readers off! Do not worry I have not been selling your URL details to anyone! Interestingly the blog has attracted visits from sixty countries to date. Hello everyone thanks for visiting the blog! The countries are:
- Andorra
- Argentina
- Australia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Bermuda
- Brazil
- Canada
- China
- Colombia
- Cyprus
- Ecuador
- Egypt
- Estonia
- Finland
- France
- Germany
- Guernsey
- Hong Kong
- Hungary
- India
- Indonesia
- Ireland
- Israel
- Italy
- Jamaica
- Japan
- Jersey
- Jordan
- Latvia
- Lithuania
- Luxembourg
- Malaysia
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- New Zealand
- Nigeria
- Norway
- Oman
- Pakistan
- Philippines
- Poland
- Portugal
- Romania
- Russia
- Saudi Arabia
- Singapore
- South Africa
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Taiwan
- Tanzania
- Thailand
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Uganda
- United Arab Emirates
- United Kingdom
This has got me thinking - which of those countries have a bankruptcy law? As a legal historian I thought I would start at the beginning with my analysis. My oldest reference point to date (save for Hebrew, Greek, Roman and medieval sources) is Loveland (Loveland, FO. A Treatise on the Law and Proceedings in Bankruptcy. WH Anderson & Co, Cincinnati, 1899) who notes that the following countries had a bankruptcy law according to a Congressional Committee report of "notable value" (December 16th 1897 - The House Committee on the Judiciary of the Fifty-fourth Congress):
- Argentina
- Austria-Hungary
- Belgium
- Bolivia
- Brazil
- Costa-Rica
- Denmark
- England
- France
- Germany
- Guatemala
- Haiti
- Honduras
- Ireland
- Italy
- Liberia
- Mexico
- Netherlands
- Norway
- Paraguay
- Portugal
- Roumania
- Russia
- Scotland
- Spain
- Sweden
- Turkey
- Uruguay
- Wales
The Committee did not ascertain whether there was a bankruptcy law in:
- Chile
- Columbia
- Dominican Republic
- Hawaii
- Japan
- Korea
- Peru
- Syria
- Switzerland
- Venezuela
Loveland notes, “It will be observed that, aside from China and possibly Japan, there are no countries of any considerable importance [how is this defined??] but what have bankruptcy laws in the modern sense of the word…In Guadeloupe there is no relief whatsoever for a bankrupt. In Siam there are no bankruptcy laws as we understand them.”
If any blog readers from the above countries would like to submit (by email: j.tribe@kingston.ac.uk) a 300 summary of the bankruptcy laws (or lack off) in their respective jurisdictions as they now stand I will happily publish the same on the blog. For a recent summary of Turkish insolvency law see: Baister, S & Altinsoy, E. The bankruptcy law of the Republic of Turkey (2009) C.R. & I,2(2), 67-70.
Thanks for reading and if any readers from particularly warm and exotic locations need a visiting lecturer for a month or so do please feel free to send over an invite!
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