Bankruptcy in Czech Republic – From the perspectives of debtors, creditors, and the judiciary, 2008-2013

Abstract

The article focuses on the impact of the 2008 Insolvency Act in Czech Republic, which introduced new consumer bankruptcy legislation designed to help debtors become free of unpaid debts. The survey included 664 insolvency proceedings of individuals started in 2008 and ended by 2013. A situation emerges in which we can for the first time evaluate the level of creditors’ satisfaction on the basis of concrete data mined from the insolvency register. The aim of article was to identify and compare trends between three key participants of insolvency proceedings – debtors, creditors and judiciary. The survey showed a higher initial debt among males, although they were at the same time able to repay a higher percentage of this debt. For creditors, the survey showed that almost a fifth of receivables are secured, most frequently with real estate. The part focused on the court structure identified differences in time needed for regional courts to pass the rulings.