The Suspension of Debt Obligations and Bankruptcy Laws during World War I and World War II: Lessons for Private Law during the Corona Pandemic from previous national crises

Tribe, John ORCID: 0000-0002-7272-7263 and Baister, Stephen (2020) The Suspension of Debt Obligations and Bankruptcy Laws during World War I and World War II: Lessons for Private Law during the Corona Pandemic from previous national crises. Insolvency Intelligence, 33 (3). pp. 67-78.

Text FINAL DRAFT - VERSION TWO - Suspending Insolvency Laws during the Great War and World War II (2).docx - Author Accepted Manuscript Download (73kB)

Abstract

On 28 March 2020, the Insolvency Service announced the government was placing before Parliament what are presumed to be temporary reforms to the insolvency law to help companies through the current economic crisis caused by the corona pandemic. The reforms that have so far been highlighted are a moratorium on the ability to present or pursue winding-up petitions and the suspension of the law on wrongful trading. These emergency moves are not without precedent. This article examines a range of measures that were introduced during the First and Second World Wars that were designed to respond to the unusual circumstances caused by a global crisis. The effect of these measures, e.g. the Liabilities (War-Time Adjustment) Act 1941, was to postpone debtors’ liabilities but not to eliminate them. This article demonstrates that these measures went some way towards meeting their objective of saving small businesses from bankruptcy.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	bankruptcy, debt, insolvency, postponement, moratorium
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	14 May 2020 10:45
Last Modified:	18 Jan 2023 23:52
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3087209