Abstrakt
If one thinks about the relationship between public interest and the law, one might not immediately think about Insolvency law. Cynically, one could state that it is simply "all about the money." Indeed, there is an influential theory deriving from the Law & Economics school that argues that Insolvency law should serve (only) the interests of the creditor(s).
In our presentation, however, we argue that matters of public interest have triggered increased attention from both academia as well as the legislator in the last decades. More and more, insolvency proceedings pursue interests that do not necessarily serve the interests of the involved parties, in particular the creditors.
We substantiate this thesis in two ways. First, we highlight some general developments in Insolvency law where the legislator acted due to public interest considerations (macro perspective).
Second, we examine two examples from a comparative point of view, namely the discharge of (natural) persons and the relationship between Penal law and Insolvency law (micro perspective). Based on these considerations, we draw conclusions concerning the function of public interest in Insolvency law and (hopefully) beyond.