In 1995, Argentina enacted a new modern insolvency law that substantially improved corporate liquidations and rehabilitations. After almost seven years of experience, some legal and institutional weaknesses persist: (1) corporate workouts are difficult in practice
(2) the unified insolvency regime causes severe problems in judicial interpretation of many legal provisions, causing court congestion with insolvency cases
(3) an uneven playing field discourages rehabilitation
(4) a lack of insolvency specialization among judges impedes efficiency and uniformity in large commercial centers
and (5) sindicos are perceived as lacking objectivity and sufficient expertise to manage complex restructurings. Liquidation proceedings take 1-5 years (depending on complexity), while reorganizations average 1½-2 years in jurisdictions with specialized judges (Mendoza, Cordoba) and 2-3 years in the others. To immediately improve the system, a new workout mechanism should be introduced to deal with systemic levels of corporate distress. In the medium term, other aspects of the legal and institutional framework should be improved.