In Australia, there is a lingering belief that bankruptcy should not be too easy.
The federal governments plan to reduce the period of bankruptcy from a minimum of three years to one year, announced in Decembers Innovation Statement, has been criticised for allowing debtors to avoid the consequences of their misconduct.
But this view misunderstands the role of bankruptcy law in a modern economy and arguably conflates the role of bankruptcy and criminal law. In fact, what is needed in addition to legal changes is a shift in the way Australians think about bankruptcy.
Modern personal bankruptcy law attempts to balance competing public interests of rehabilitating debtors and allowing them a fresh start, with the need to discourage reckle…
Read the full article at: http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2016/1/13/economy/its-time-change-way-we-think-about-bankruptcy