The Introduction of Personal Bankruptcy Law in China:A Comparative Analysis

This thesis is a comparative research study looking at the question of whether China is an exception when considering the lack of necessity for the introduction of laws relating to personal bankruptcy. Firstly, this thesis discusses the function of a personal bankruptcy system and considers how personal bankruptcy law functions as a form of social insurance from a theoretical perspective. Then, the thesis discusses how different jurisdictions design the framework of personal bankruptcy law. Countries embrace the insurance function of insolvency law differently. In addition to describing the institutional framework in different jurisdictions, it also explores how the law is shaped and what Chinese policymakers can learn from the experiences of the legislative process in other jurisdictions. After learning from experiences from other countries, this thesis discusses the necessity for the introduction of personal bankruptcy law in China. It argues that the growth of consumer credit will lead to individual over-indebtedness. Accordingly, Chinese policymakers should think about the response to over-indebtedness in advance. Then, the thesis demonstrates that current solutions to overindebtedness are not effective so that a personal bankruptcy system is

necessary. However, introducing personal bankruptcy law is not an easy task in the Chinese context and this thesis discusses the obstacles to introducing a personal bankruptcy system in China. It focuses on whether there are any obstacles relating to infrastructure and cultural

factors likely to be encountered when introducing the personal bankruptcy law. In the last chapter, this thesis analyses the institutional framework of personal bankruptcy regulation at local level. It discusses how lawmakers in China embrace the insolvency law’s insurance

function.