Judicial Impact on Bankruptcy Efficiency: An Empirical Analysis of Case Duration in Serbian Bankruptcy Liquidations

This paper examines how judges shape the efficiency of liquidation proceedings, using case duration as a central indicator of procedural performance. Drawing on a dataset of over 1,300 closed bankruptcy liquidation cases in Serbia from 2010 to 2024, we apply hierarchical and cross-classified random-effects models to quantify the influence of judges, courts, and administrators, while controlling for case-level characteristics such as estate size, case complexity, contested claims, and debtor type. The analysis reveals substantial variation in case duration attributable to both judges and administrators, with administrators emerging as particularly influential in the cross-classified specifications. Moreover, we assess whether specific judge–administrator pairings systematically affect outcomes beyond their individual effects. While interaction effects are modest, they account for additional variation in procedural efficiency. The results highlight the importance of operational capacity and coordination between key institutional actors, offering evidence that agent-level discretion, beyond the legal framework, plays a role in shaping case trajectories. These findings contribute to the literature on judicial behavior, bankruptcy governance, and institutional performance in transitional legal systems.