Consumer bankruptcy e debt mitigation: modelli a confronto

A growing number of legal systems have decided to take measures to address the problems derived from the over-indebtedness of consumers, a common feature in contemporary credit society. This article provides an overview of the various models that have been developed over the last two decades by the national legislatures. In the same period, common law systems, where bankruptcy proceedings were traditionally available for non-commercial entities, felt the need to adjust the existing rules in order to prevent abuses. All the different provisions enacted to mitigate the debts incurred by consumers, or to allow them a fresh start, pose serious problems of compatibility with well-established principles of contract law. Their comparative analysis shows remarkable distinctions, especially between the civil law and common law approaches. The author focuses on these distinctions as well as on a peculiar phenomenon that has taken place due to the disparity of legal regimes in Europe, the so called insolvency tourism.