Samenvatting

The corona crisis can be seen as an opportunity to facilitate a much wider access to the courts for a clean slate in the case of personal insolvency. This access was provided by the 1998 Dutch law on debt rescheduling Wsnp. After explaining the relapse of the law and the problems of the present system, an overview is given of the societal activities to turn the tide. The judiciary has started several local experiments to help overindebted citizens. Using the concept of societally effective courts the Council of the judiciary has backed this development. In the concluding part the author discusses several paths to improve the situation. First, the courts should organize themselves in such a way that debt collection and debt help are coordinated. Second, the courts must abandon their strict attitude towards the formalities for access that are now in place. The municipal assistance institutions should be given the possibility to suggest to the courts that their clients are ripe for a fresh start.