Common term for Restschuldbefreiung is discharge or bankruptcy discharge. Since it is a legal concept arising out of the 1999 German bankruptcy code, the German term is often left in parens. behind the translation (that, however, might not work so well for yellow pages, thus I'd use bankruptcy discharge.)

The statute is called Insolvenzordnung. I prepared a html-Version. You can take a look at it: http://ruessmann.jura.uni-sb.de/rw20/gesetze/insolvo/insfram... In Germany the discharge is called Restschuldbefreiung and dealt with in Sections 286-303 Insolvenzordnung. Only individuals can apply for it.
www.jura.uni-sb.de/faq/faq66a.htm

The bankruptcy track (Restschuldbefreiung) follows different
principles. Creditors' acceptance of the plan is not necessary. The
discharge proceedings follow the normal bankruptcy course. Discharge
may be denied because of economic crime, other fraud, or conduct
injurious to creditors' interests. Access to the proceedings, however, only
confers the right to start a payment plan. The duration of the payment
plan is seven years, and there are no exceptions. The payment
obligations under the plan correspond to the garnishment provisions,
and leave the debtor with only enough money to live at a basic
subsistence level.
[PDF] www.yorku.ca/ohlj/PDFs/37.1.2/niemi.art.pdf


The goal of a bankruptcy proceeding is to obtain a discharge of debts. When a debt is discharged, it is no longer enforceable against the debtor personally.
Personal liability
When you have personal liability for a debt, a creditor with a judgment can use legal processes, like levy and garnishment, to reach your non exempt assets and earnings even though those assets were not pledged as collateral and the debt was unsecured.. The bankruptcy discharge eliminates the debtor's personal liability for a discharged debt.
Liens or in rem liability
Even though personal liability is discharged, most liens, the liability of an item of property for a debt secured by that property, pass unaffected through bankruptcy unless a court order modifies or voids them. See what debts are secured by liens?
So, after a bankruptcy discharge, a lien may remain a charge on an asset the debtor owned when the case was commenced, but that debt cannot become a lien on any assets that the debtor acquires after the bankruptcy discharge.
www.moranlaw.net/discharge.htm

See also
www.nvb.uscourts.gov/nvb/CourtInfo.nsf/93d19f52a4c26e568825... 54b4d589ea98aaee882565e90064a488?OpenDocument
for a good explanation of bankruptcy discharge