Reflections of the World Bank's Report on the Treatment of the Insolvency of Natural Persons in the Newest Consumer Bankruptcy Laws: Colombia, Italy, Ireland

Abstract

In 2011, the World Bank initiated its first-ever examination of the policies and characteristics of effective insolvency systems for individuals (natural persons). This paper describes the two-year process that led to the publication of the World Bank's landmark Report on the Treatment of the Insolvency of Natural Persons. After examining the key content and three major themes of the Report, three of the most recent new personal insolvency regimes are introduced with an eye to identifying the ways in which the themes of the Report are reflected in these new laws. The personal insolvency provisions in Colombian law most directly evidence the influence of the World Bank project. Its major themes are reflected distinctly in the new laws in Italy and Ireland, as well, though in very different ways, lending support to the World Bank's predictions of convergence but continuing diversity of approach around the world in this rapidly developing area of law.