The Council of Europe Committee of Ministers' Recommendation Rec(2007)8 on legal solutions to debt problems is the first international legal instrument that estab¬lishes a set of legal principles in order to assist national legislators in introducing or reinforcing laws and policies in this field. The recommendation covers three main areas: prevention of over-indebtedness of individuals and families, alleviation of the effects of debt recovery in order to avoid social exclusion and rehabilitation of over-indebted individuals with due regard to their human dignity.