Part III Sovereign Debt Restructuring, 10 An Introduction to Sovereign Debt Restructuring
This chapter starts by introducing the Brady Plan which aimed to address the debt crisis that occurred in the developing countries during the 1980s. The chapter also looks at new developments which have taken place in the area of sovereign debt restructuring since the Brady Plan. These are the EU sovereign debt crisis, and the ongoing Argentine litigation in New York. The former is a debt crisis that was originated in Greece in late 2009 and has been taking place in other Euro-areas ever since and has affected Portugal, Ireland, Spain, and Cyprus. The ongoing Argentine litigation in New York relates to a claim initiated by a hedge fund to collect on defaulted debt obligations issued by Argentina based on the breach of the pari passu clause. The pari passu clause is a standard clause in public or private international unsecured debt obligations.