Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure

In the United States, bankruptcy court is in the domain of the Federal Government. In order for there to be some degree of consistency across America for individual bankruptcy courts in the 94 Federal districts, certain uniform bankruptcy court rules must govern how proceedings are run. For example, the nation's appellate courts are guided in part by the Federal Rules of Appellate Procedure (FRAP). Both the Court of Appeals and the United States bankruptcy court system, meanwhile, are influenced by the provisions outlined in the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure (FRBP).

Like the FRAP, the bankruptcy court rules outlined by the FRBP are handed down to bankruptcy courts by the Supreme Court. Imaginably, they are policies unto themselves that pertain specifically to bankruptcy in America. The following are considerations of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure's structure and their role in the United States bankruptcy court system:

The FRBP are rather expansive, considering all that is contained within the individual chapters of Title 11 of the United States Code. After all, these bankruptcy court rules exist as an appendix to the more specific bankruptcy court rules of the Bankruptcy Code.

The beginnings of the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure as applicable in the United States bankruptcy court program can be traced back to the 1930s in the passage of the Rules Enabling Act (REA) that conferred policy-making powers on the Supreme Court and has been responsible for the continued change of similar codified court guidelines, such as the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure. Section 2075 of the REA in particular grants the Supreme Court the "power to prescribe by general rules, the forms of process, writs, pleadings, and motions, and the practice and procedure in cases under title 11."

In terms of how the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure are practically implemented in the United States bankruptcy court system today, the FRBP covers a lot of territory with regard to bankruptcy court rules. Part I refers to details surrounding the start of proceedings and how they may differ for voluntary and involuntary petitions. Part II approaches policies on the officers of the court and pre-trial meetings (e.g. meetings of the creditors). Part III involves discussion of creditors' claims and the development of repayment plans.

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