Consumer Bankruptcy and over-indebtedness is an emerging field throughout the world. This book provides a comparative appraisal of global developments in this area. It is one of the first book length publications focusing on comparative consumer bankruptcy and over-indebtedness. It combines theoretical and empirical studies of bankruptcy regimes and consumer credit in civilian and common law jurisdictions as well as exploring current reform trends. The book will be of interest to academics, policymakers and law reformers as well as to practitioners.

...will undoubtedly shape the agenda for further research in this field. Adrian Walters Journal of Consumer Policy, Vol.28, Issue 2 2005 We are much indebted to Hart Publishing. So far as I am aware, no books dealing with consumer insolvency have previously been published in this country, and we now have two [Comparative Consumer Insolvency Regimes and Consumer Bankruptcy in Global Perspective] launched in the same month. And they are in many respects complementary, even to the point of having cross-references to each other, as well as being especially timely, in view of the reforms to the law of bankruptcy in England and Wales effected by the Enterprise Act 2002 The two books are a rich source of comparative study extending over a wide range of jurisdictions. These well-researched and informative books make most interesting reading and are to be commended to general as well as specialist readers. Len Sealy Cambridge Law Journal August 2004

Iain Ramsay is Professor of Law at Kent Law School, University of Kent at Canterbury. Johanna Niemi-Kiesilainen is Associate Professor in Procedural Law at the University of Helsinki, Finland. William C Whitford is an Emeritus Professor of Law at the University of Wisconsin Law School.