Reinventing Bankruptcy Law: A History of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act: A History of the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act

__Reinventing Bankruptcy Law__ offers the first historical account of the CCAA, drawing on a broad array of historical sources including legislation, news sources, scholarly writing, archival materials, and more.

Reinventing Bankruptcy Law explodes conventional wisdom about the history of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act and in its place offers the first historical account of Canada’s premier corporate restructuring statute. The book adopts a novel research approach that combines legal history, socio-legal theory, ideas from political science, and doctrinal legal analysis. Meticulously researched and multi-disciplinary, Reinventing Bankruptcy Law provides a comprehensive and concise history of CCAA law over the course of the twentieth century, framing developments within broader changes in Canadian institutions including federalism, judicial review, and statutory interpretation.

Examining the influence of private parties and commercial practices on lawmaking, Virginia Torrie argues that CCAA law was shaped by the commercial needs of powerful creditors to restructure corporate borrowers, providing a compelling thesis about the dynamics of legal change in the context of corporate restructuring. Torrie exposes the errors in recent case law to devastating effect and argues that courts and the legislature have switched roles – leading to the conclusion that contemporary CCAA courts function like a modern day Court of Chancery. This book is essential reading for the Canadian insolvency community as well as those interested in Canadian institutions, legal history, and the dynamics of change.

"Reinventing Bankruptcy Law explodes conventional wisdom about the history of the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act and in its place offers the first historical account of Canada’s premier corporate restructuring statute. The book adopts a novel research approach that combines legal history, socio-legal theory, ideas from political science, and doctrinal legal analysis. Meticulously researched and multi-disciplinary, Reinventing Bankruptcy Law provides a comprehensive and concise history of CCAA law over the course of the twentieth century, framing developments within broader changes in Canadian institutions including federalism, judicial review, and statutory interpretation.Examining the influence of private parties and commercial practices on lawmaking, Virginia Torrie argues that CCAA law was shaped by the commercial needs of powerful creditors to restructure corporate borrowers, providing a compelling thesis about the dynamics of legal change in the context of corporate restructuring. Torrie exposes the errors in recent case law to devastating effect and argues that courts and the legislature have switched roles. This book is essential reading for the Canadian insolvency community as well as those interested in Canadian institutions, legal history, and the dynamics of change."-- P^rovided by publisher "Reinventing Bankruptcy Law explodes conventional wisdom about the history of the Companies' Creditors Arrangement Act and in its place offers the first historical account of Canada's premier corporate restructuring statute. The book adopts a novel research approach that combines legal history, socio-legal theory, ideas from political science, and doctrinal legal analysis. Meticulously researched and multi-disciplinary, Reinventing Bankruptcy Law provides a comprehensive and concise history of CCAA law over the course of the twentieth century, framing developments within broader changes in Canadian institutions including federalism, judicial review, and statutory interpretation. Examining the influence of private parties and commercial practices on lawmaking, Virginia Torrie argues that CCAA law was shaped by the commercial needs of powerful creditors to restructure corporate borrowers, providing a compelling thesis about the dynamics of legal change in the context of corporate restructuring. Torrie exposes the errors in recent case law to devastating effect and argues that courts and the legislature have switched roles. This book is essential reading for the Canadian insolvency community as well as those interested in Canadian institutions, legal history, and the dynamics of change."-- Provided by publisher Cover Copyright Contents Figures and Table Foreword Acknowledgments Abbreviations 1 Historical Institutionalism and the Recursivity of Law Part One: Traditions and Emerging Practices, 1920s–1950s 2 Corporate Restructuring as a Bondholder Remedy 3 Enshrining a Bondholder Remedy in Federal Legislation 4 Constitutional References and Changing Conceptions of Federalism, 1934–1937 5 Efforts to Repeal the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, 1938–1953 Part Two: Transforming CCAA Law, 1970s–2000s 6 New Lenders, New Forms of Lending, and Stalled Bankruptcy Reforms, 1970s–1980s 7 Purposive Interpretation and Pro-ActiveJudging, 1980s–1990s 8 Judicial Sanction of Tactical Devices 9 Formalizing a Modern Debtor-in-Possession Restructuring Narrative 10 Conclusion Appendices Notes Bibliography Index