UNDER the suggestion and advocation of deputies from Shenzhen Municipal People’s Congress (MPC), the city’s Intermediate People’s Court has completed a draft proposal of legislation concerning individual bankruptcy, according to the MPC.

    The MPC recently disclosed that it would officially lodge the proposal to the National People’s Congress (NPC) after studying the draft, as only the NPC has the authority to make laws based on the country’s Legislation Law.

    During last year’s annual sessions of the city’s legislative and political advisory bodies, 15 deputies from Shenzhen MPC jointly proposed to accelerate legislation concerning individual bankruptcy in Shenzhen in order to further improve the existing laws.

    According to the MPC, China has laws on corporate bankruptcy, but lacks laws to protect individual rights in the case of personal bankruptcy. The MPC expressed its wish to complete the legislation on individual bankruptcy as soon as possible.

    In fact, many legal practitioners have been making efforts to promote such legislation over the past few years. A regulation on corporate bankruptcy promulgated in Shenzhen in 1995 was adopted nationwide and enabled all kinds of corporations to apply for bankruptcy.

    The Shenzhen Intermediate People’s Court gathered experts to study relevant laws in other developed countries and areas including Hong Kong, which is well-known for its sound personal bankruptcy system and rich experience in implementing liquidation.

    The court is also confident about its capacity to implement an individual bankruptcy law as it has many experienced liquidation practitioners and over 300 managing personnel.

    Lawyers in Shenzhen also contributed to the promotion of individual bankruptcy. The city’s lawyer association put forward a proposal advocating the significance and necessity of individual bankruptcy legislation to the standing committee of the MPC in August 2014.

    The association has gathered a group of sophisticated lawyers, who have been working in the liquidation field for a long time, to prepare a draft of the legislation. The soon-to-be published material will provide constructive instructions on the legislation of individual bankruptcy.  (Zhang Qian)