Abstract
This thesis concerns legislation enacted in Belgium, the UK and within the euro zone countries. At the heart of my research is the following question: do these legislative initiatives succeed in 1) discouraging minority creditors from refusing to take part in restructuring processes, including debt relief initiatives, and 2) limiting creditor lawsuits against defaulting sovereign debtors? The thesis will also look at recent legal developments that have arisen since the Argentine economic crisis in 2001, and examine whether these developments are likely to affect the above-mentioned legislation. In order to answer the research question, the thesis will examine sovereign debt contracts (in-cluding sovereign bonds) in the international credit market and how these are enforced within different jurisdictions. It will further examine how different countries seek to limit the possibility of enforcing certain contract rights within their jurisdiction through national legislation.