破产,诚如19世纪末20世纪初美国的法学家查理·沃伦~①所观察的,是一个黑暗而令人沮丧的话题。~②但是,这又是美国人生活中不可回避的话题,当一个人或者组织甚至于政府国家面临债务危机的时候,都会和这个话题紧密相连。在美国,破产触及了社会的各个角落和不同阶层,走向破产法庭的,可能是富商巨贾,可能是布衣韦带,可能是公司帝国,也可能是游商走贩。从组成部分来看,破产法上接宪法中的破产条款(bankruptcy clause),下联州法的财产、合同、侵权等与债权债务相关的法律。 Bankruptcy, as observed by Charlie Warren of the United States in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, is a dark and depressing topic. However, this is another unavoidable issue in the lives of Americans. When a person or organization or even a government country faces a debt crisis, it is closely linked to this topic. In the United States, where bankruptcy touches every corner of society and different strata toward the bankruptcy court, it may be a wealthy merchant, perhaps a Burweway belt, perhaps a corporate empire or a tourist trader. In terms of components, the bankruptcy law incorporates the bankruptcy clause in the constitution, the law of the united states law, the property, the contract, the infringement and other laws relating to credit and debt.