债务人不诚信的认定与规制:基于个人破产试点地区的规则比较与反思

Recognition and Regulation of Debtor’s Dishonesty:Comparison and Reflection on the Rules of Individual Bankruptcy Pilot Areas

甄别“良善债务人”是各国个人破产立法与司法的重点和难点问题。时下,《深圳经济特区个人破产条例》及其他试点法院文件都以反向列举的方式,明确债务人不诚信的表现,据此判断其是否属于“诚实而不幸”的负债者。但比较发现,各地文件所认定的不诚信行为范围过于宽泛,包含了较多与破产事务无关的债务人违法犯罪行为,如危害公共利益、破坏社会秩序等。各地试点法院偏向于通过限制债务人破产资格、终结破产程序的方式对其不诚信之举进行规制,在体现严管态度的同时,亦使国内试点阶段的个人破产制度较之于其他国家或地区的个人破产制度的适用门槛更高,程序的可延续性更差,甚至呈现出明显的工具性与策略性色彩。未来国家统一立法应从不当行为与破产事务的关联性、行为审查的时间限度、行为表现与情节的严重性等三个维度出发,严格区分破产法意义上的不诚信行为与债务人的其他不当行为,合理界定不诚信的范畴。立法还应针对不同行为实施差异化规制,令性质有异、危害程度不同的行为在实践中产生不同的后果,减少使用破产资格剥夺以及程序终结等过于严厉的规制措施。

Identifying“honest but unfortunate debtors”poses a significant challenge in personal bankruptcy legislation and judicial practice globally.The current approach,as seen in the Personal Bankruptcy Regulation of Shenzhen Special Economic Zone and other pilot court documents,employs stringent measures to regulate dishonest behavior by restricting debtor qualifications and terminating bankruptcy procedures.However,it is imperative for national unified legislation to precisely delineate the scope of dishonesty under bankruptcy law,implement tailored regulation for different behaviors,and minimize the use of severe regulatory measures such as disqualification from bankruptcy.