近代英国个人破产制度的建立

On the Establishment of Bankruptcy System in Modern Britain

1542年《破产法》标志着近代英国个人破产制度的建立。该法的颁布具有深厚的历史背景,中世纪晚期英国商品经济获得显著发展,但普通法对集体诉讼行为没有相应的规定,进而不能解决债权人对债务人财产“谁先诉,谁受偿”这一问题。此外,普通法也不能很好地解决债务人欺诈性逃债行为等问题,因此亨利八世颁布了1542年《破产法》。该法确立了破产法的两大基本原则,即债权人集体行动和按比例分配,被公认为近代英国第一部破产法,其颁布具有重要的历史意义,然而该法把破产视为一种犯罪行为,且没有规定破产免责制度,具有历史局限性。

The Bankruptcy Act of 1542 marked the establishment of bankruptcy system in modern Britain.The law was enacted with a deep historical background,with the development of British commercial economy in the late Middle Ages,the common law has no corresponding provisions on collective action,which can not solve the problem of"first come,first served"for the debtor's property.Besides,the common law could not solve the problem of paying off debts of many creditors,so Henry VIII promulgated The Bankruptcy Act of 1542.This law has established two basic principles of bankruptcy law:collective action of creditors and proportional distribution,so it is considered as the first bankruptcy law in Modern Britain,which has important historical significance.However,the bankruptcy law does not stipulate bankruptcy discharge system,which has historical limitations.