The International and Comparative Conference on the Legislation and Practice of Individual Insolvency (Online participation)

Event Details

China, the second largest economy in the world, enacted its 'Enterprise Bankruptcy Law' in 2006, a law that covered corporate but not personal insolvency. In May 2020, Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang, declared at the National Congress Press Conference that China had 600 million people with a low monthly income that could run into a financial crisis and struggle to recover in the absence of a personal insolvency regime.

Accordingly, there has been a lively debate on these issues among academics, policymakers, judges, and practitioners as well as considerable academic research. Since late 2018, courts in Zhejiang province have heard more than 500 cases relating to personal insolvency. Responding to the need for legislation the Personal Insolvency Law Research Center of Beijing Foreign Studies University has developed and published for comment a number of proposals and legislative drafts. In the absence of national legislation, some local governments have begun to adopt regional regulations covering personal debt reorganization or liquidation. For example, Shenzhen promulgated the Personal Bankruptcy Regulation of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone in 2020.

To move forward a number of critical questions remain to be answered: How will the basic structure of a personal insolvency procedure look like? How should a discharge system be devised? What will be the scope of exemption for the debtor's assets? Will there be a regulatory framework for information and data concerning personal insolvency to protect and avoid stigmatizing individuals? Will SMEs be included in personal insolvency to promote entrepreneurship?

To explore these issues the Beijing Foreign Studies University, the British Institute of International and Comparative Law, and Queen Mary University of London are hosting a Conference on the Legislation and Practice of Individual Insolvency from an international and comparative perspective where expert academics, policymakers, judges, practicing lawyers, and regulators from the UK, China, the USA, France, Japan and the EU will be sharing insights, debate, and suggest solutions.

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Speakers

• Prof. David Milman, Lancaster University 
• Prof. Jason J. Kilborn,  University of Illinois Chicago
• Prof. Katharina Moser, Birmingham University
• Prof. John Tribe, Liverpool University
• Prof. Iain Ramsay, University of Kent
• Prof. Wu Shougen, Ewha Womans University
• Prof. Yamamoto Kazuhiko, Dean of Law School, Hitotsubashi University of Japan
• Prof. Annina H Persson, Orebro University
• Paul Bannister, Head of Policy, Insolvency Service (BEIS)
• Stephen Baister, Independent Non-Executive Director, Insolvency litigation funding UK
• Prof. Spyros Maniatis, Director of the British Institute of International and Comparative Law
• Prof. Lishu Guang, Dean of Graduate School of China University of Political Science and Law
• Renyi Min, President, Executive Director, Zhejiang Bankruptcy Trustees Association Capital Equity Legal Group
• Judge Jing Xiaojing, Shenzhen Bankruptcy Court
   

Pricing and Registration

This event is free to attend but pre-registration is required.