Human Rights Perspectives in Insolvency

Abstract: What human rights or fundamental rights of stakeholders do insolvency norms and laws affect? Will a human rights perspective help in striking a balance between the affected stakeholders? These are the primary questions addressed in this thesis. The idea that human rights values are relevant to he theoretical discussion about insolvency policy is relatively novel. Insolvency after all conjures images of banks and other creditors who are simply attempting to recover their investment. A thorough examination of the dynamics of insolvency however reveals that insolvency is not just about debt collection. It is a complex process that also implicates interests and stakes beyond the interest of banks and other creditors. Globalization further exacerbates this complexity, more so under circumstances of economic decline in the world economy. Using literature review and interdisciplinary or critical legal analysis as methods, the thesis analyzes the axiology of corporate insolvency. While “law and economics” has been identified as an influential value in policy formulation, normative values like human rights were identified to be equally relevant. The thesis draws upon stakeholder theory and corporate responsibility vis-à-vis human rights law to lay the foundation for stakeholder conflict analysis in the context of corporate insolvencies. Concluding that the likely conflict situations in corporate insolvency involve human rights, the thesis suggests the use of the proportionality principle as a balancing tool. In the functional part of the thesis, the author analyzes the relevant provisions of the Philippine insolvency law and singles out the conceptual disconnect of the law with mainstream stakeholder theory in the way it defines the term “stakeholder.”