The Role of US Judges and Courts in Enforcing US Bankruptcy Law

Abstract

Bankruptcy laws in the United States did not always provide debtors with the financial “fresh start” that is now considered fundamental to the system.¹ Indeed, in early American history, imprisonment for debt was the common practice.² The modern incarnation of bankruptcy law in the United States can be traced back to the US Constitution, which went into effect in 1789. Under Article I, section 8, Clause 4, the US Congress was granted the power to establish “uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States.”³