Abstract

One of the burning issues in South African insolvency law is the regulation of insolvency practitioners. Practitioners are involved in almost every aspect of the insolvency process and occupy a significant position of trust over the affairs of insolvent companies and individuals. In South African insolvency law, there is currently no statutory framework requiring persons acting as insolvency practitioners to be licensed or otherwise authorised to carry out such work. The article unpacks the concept of conflict of interest in South African insolvency law and continues to make recommendations for the development of an efficient and effective regulatory model. An analysis of the concept of conflict of interest within the context of international norms and standards is included together with a discussion of the legal developments in South African insolvency law. The purpose of this article is to argue that the reform of any area of South African insolvency law and more specifically the regulation of insolvency law, should be done against the background of a well-managed policy development process and generally accepted social and economic goals.