Research
John’s specific areas of interest
- personal and corporate insolvency law and corporate restructuring
- legal history - imprisonment for debt, 17th century debtor treatment
- Muir Hunter Museum of Bankruptcy (curator - Click here for an image gallery of the Museum's exhibits)
- Basil Montagu QC, first Accountant General in Bankruptcy (1770-1851), Francis, Lord Verulam, Lord Keeper and Lord Chancellor 1618-1621 (1561-1626), Sir Samuel Romilly KC, MP, HM Solicitor General 1806-1807 (1757-1818).
- company law
- equity and trusts
John's principal research interests are the history of English insolvency law and, personal insolvency law in general. He has completed the Bankruptcy Courts Survey 2005 (BCS) for the Insolvency Service. This work led to an invitation to address the Scottish Parliament's Enterprise and Culture Committee on the 7th March 2006 on the effects of the Enterprise Act 2002 in England and Wales. In 2007 John completed a second major research project for the Insolvency Service and Grant Thornton LLP entitled Personal Insolvency Law in England and Wales: Debtor Advice, Debtor Education and the Credit Environment (PIP - citation below). A third report commissioned by the Insolvency Service on phoenixism and directors will be published in late 2009.
John’s current work in progress relates to the history of English insolvency law, personal insolvency law and corporate insolvency law:
The abstracts and 'working paper' versions of several of the following can be found on the Social Science Research Network
Books
- Tribe, J. The Extension of Small Company Voluntary Arrangements: A Response to the Conservative Party's Corporate Restructuring Proposals on Moratorium Use, in; Omar, P. (Ed). Insolvency Law: Issues, Themes and Perspectives. Ashgate Publishing.
- Tribe, J. 'Punishment without Crime - An Historical Examination of the Treatment of Debtors and the use of Punishment in English Insolvency Law during the Seventeenth Century'. (from PhD thesis).
- Tribe, J & Graham, D. 'Basil Montagu QC - A Portrait of an Early 19th Century Life in Literature and the Law'.
Articles
John is also working on a number of long articles:
- "The Treatment of Debtors Prior to the Advent of Bankruptcy in England: Some Misconceptions Debunked."
- "Trusts, Equitable Principles and Insolvency Law: The Quest for Alternative Forms of Risk Management."
- "Discharge in Personal Insolvency: A Critical Examination" (paper accepted for the 2009 Insolvency Service Research Conference).
In addition to his lectureship at Kingston University, John is also undertaking doctoral work in the field of insolvency at University College London, under the supervision of Professor Ian F. Fletcher. His thesis title is: 'Punishment without Crime - An Historical Examination of the Treatment of Debtors and the use of Punishment in English Insolvency Law during the 17th Century'. Having passed his MPhil to PhD upgrade viva John hopes to submit in early 2009 and is now in CRS status.