THE SOURCE OF BANKRUPTCY LAW

        The genesis of the bankruptcy power is the Bankruptcy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.  The Constitution provides that Congress shall have the power "to establish  . . . uniform laws on the subject of bankruptcies throughout the United States."  U.S. Const. art. 1, section 8.  Bankruptcy statutes were passed by Congress in 1800, 1841, 1867, 1898 and 1978.  The current bankruptcy law is the Bankruptcy Act of 1978, as amended.  It is found in Title 11 of the United States Code.

        Also governing procedures in Bankruptcy Court are the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy  Procedure, which generally apply to all Bankruptcy Courts in the country.   Local Bankruptcy Courts have been empowered to create their own local Bankruptcy Rules which cannot be inconsistent with the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure.  In Southeastern Pennsylvania, those rules are titled the Local Bankruptcy Rules of the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

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