Voorstel Raad van Europa voor internationaal wetgevingsinstrument voor oplossen van schuldproblemen (en)

Press release 440(2007)

The Council of Europe suggests legal solutions to debt problems

Strasbourg, 21.06.2007 - The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers has just adopted a Recommendation on legal solutions to debt problems.

To address the increasingly widespread problem of over-indebtedness, and in the absence of any international legal instrument in this area, the text could form a sound basis for identifying legal and political measures that could be adopted by governments of Council of Europe member States.

The Committee of Ministers suggests three principal and interlocking ways :

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  Prevention of over-indebtedness of individuals and families,

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  Alleviation of the effects of debt recovery in order to avoid social exclusion,

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  Rehabilitation of over-indebted people with due regard to their human dignity.

The text also considers - at international, national, regional and local level - the role and co-operation of competent bodies such as courts, administrative authorities and non-governmental organisations, as well as financial and lending institutions.

The Recommendation adopted follows a decision taken by the European Ministers of Justice at their 26th Conference in Helsinki in April 2005. They highlighted the need to find legal and practical solutions for dealing with the problem of over-indebtedness in a credit society.

Possible follow-up: exchange of information, assistance to member States, a best practices guide and evaluation of solutions.

Council of Europe Press Division

Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 25 60

Fax:+33 (0)3 88 41 39 11

pressunit@coe.int

www.coe.int/press