Corporate Rescue Transplants and Religious Influences in Developing Countries

Abstract

Legal transplanting entails the adoption in one country of (part of) the law of another country. Some developing countries have changed their law of corporate insolvency, implementing legal institutions such as corporate rescue procedures. Comparative law scholars are divided on whether legal transplantation is possible. According to Alan Watson, legal transplantation is easy, whereas Pierre Legrand is of the opinion that it is impossible. Otto Kahn-Freund adopts a more nuanced stance. All three however agree that culture has an influence on the success of legal transplants. Religion, as a component of culture, makes it more difficult to transplant certain legal institutions. This does not mean that it is impossible to adopt one corporate rescue regime in all developing countries. It does however mean that the specific religions can have an influence on the way the new law will be used.