WHAT CHANGED IN PERSONAL DEBT ENFORCEMENT SINCE ANCIENT TIMES?

Öz

Debt default has various adverse effects on the parties of a loan transaction, namely the debtor, lender, market, and society. Many mechanisms have been developed for debt enforcement since ancient times. Unfortunately, the sanctions used in enforcement, especially for personal debts, have always been quite harsh. This paper evaluates the instruments used in personal debt enforcement. It presents that some sanctions used in ancient societies are still utilized in modern economies. While the traditional insolvency regulations focused only on protecting the lender by disregarding the humanitarian aspect, current laws also aim at the relief of defaulted individuals. Although there is no more death penalty and slavery, and are too few imprisonment practices today, the ancient instrument of seizing assets is still an essential sanction with some exemptions. Debt bondage is also not employed nowadays. However, confiscating the individuals’ future income may be considered a modern form of debt bondage.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Debt bondage
• Enforcement of personal debt
• Personal debt default
• Sanctions for default

ANTİK ÇAĞLARDAN BU YANA KİŞİSEL BORÇ İCRASINDA NE DEĞİŞTİ?

Öz

Bir borç işleminde karşılaşılan temerrüdün gerek borç alan ve veren taraflar ve gerekse piyasa ve toplum üzerinde olumsuz etkileri vardır. Antik çağlardan bu yana söz konusu borçların icrası için çok çeşitli yöntemler geliştirilmiştir. Maalesef bu araçlar, özellikle kişisel borçlar için kullanılanlar, oldukça sert olagelmiştir. Bu çalışmada kişisel borç icrasında kullanılan araçlar değerlendirilmiş ve antik toplumlarda kullanılan araçların bazılarının bugün de kullanılmaya devam ettiği ortaya konulmuştur. Eski temerrüt düzenlemeleri konunun insani boyutunu göz ardı ederek sadece alacaklıları ve piyasayı korumayı amaçlamışken, modern yasalar, aynı zamanda, borçluların bu durumdan kurtulmalarını da gözetmektedir. Her ne kadar artık borç yüzünden ölüm ve kölelik gibi cezalar verilmiyor ve hapis cezasına çok nadir rastlanıyorsa da antik dönmelerin aracı olan borçlunun varlıklarının haczedilmesi, bazı istisnalarla, bugünün de ana yaptırım aracıdır. Günümüzde artık borç köleliği de başvurulan bir yöntem olmaktan çıkmıştır. Bununla birlikte, borçluların gelecekteki gelirlerinin haczedilmesi borç köleliğinin yeni bir formu olarak görülebilir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Borç köleliği
• Borç temerrüdünün yaptırımı
• Kişisel borç icrası
• Kişisel temerrüt

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