Document Type

Article

Disciplines

International Law

Abstract

The sources, language and practice of insolvency law in the United Kingdom are distinct among England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. The main statutory reformulation of the law, however, which dates from the Insolvency Act, 1986,1 extends to both England and Scotland. The focus of this paper will be the nature of insolvency under English law.

The 1986 Act was in part inspired by the recommendations of a committee of inquiry appointed by the government: the Insolvency Law and Practice Committee (the Cork Committee, 1982, Cmnd. 8558) investigated the law and practice of insolvency over a five-year period. Although many of the proposals made by that committee of inquiry remain unimplemented, they remain of key importance in any future discussion of reform in insolvency law.

The two principal ways in which the realization and distribution of an insolvent's assets are effected in English law are known as bankruptcy and winding-up. The basic structure of the Insolvency Act, 1986, reflects this division. The Act falls into three parts: company insolvency, insolvency of individuals, and matters common to both types of insolvency. While bankruptcy applies only to insolvent individuals and partnerships, winding-up is the procedure appropriate for dealing with insolvency as it relates to corporate bodies. This paper addresses primarily corporate insolvency.

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