By proposing a reform of bankruptcy law in 1883, the Belgian legislator introduced an ambitious and far-reaching legal innovation, especially compared to other countries in Europe. The law of June 1883 would provide lifelines in pre-insolvency matters: a “preventive composition” was the first procedure in Europe to avoid declaring bankruptcy while focusing on the continuity of the business. Since then, the parting of the debtor's assets was no longer considered the usual outcome to his financial troubles: this law’s aspiration was to establish the possibility of negotiating an agreement without having to run the risk of going bankrupt and being declared insolvent by a court decision. This had a great effect on the possibility of company liquidation: from now on, negotiations could be carried out in the chambers of the commercial court between the creditors and the indigent debtor, and pre-insolvency proceedings could thus give a second breath to commerce in difficulty.