The Czech Supreme Court recently issued two decisions having a significant impact on the position of secured creditors (i.e. generally financial institutions) within insolvency proceedings. Both decisions stem from one of the first major insolvencies conducted under the (then new) Czech Insolvency Act effective from 2008, in respect of a group of companies in a glass-making business. This article briefly reviews those decisions and points out their practical effects on the rights of secured creditors.

According to Justice Ministry statistics, 32,656 insolvency petitions were filed in the Czech Republic in 2012.

There are two main sources of confusion in the public corporate governance debate. One is the confusion about the role of public policy intervention. The other is a lack of empirical knowledge about the corporate landscape where rules are supposed to be implemented and the functioning of today’s equity markets, where voting rights and cash flow rights are traded. To mitigate some of this confusion, this paper provides both an analytical framework for the role of public policy and a description of the empirical context that influences the conditions for that policy.

The highest Czech Court decision defining “known creditor” within Council Regulation (EC) No. 1346/2000 has European wide impact. In order to understand the influence of the decision, it is necessary to briefly describe the Czech law provisions for lodging claims. Winter 2012/2013

Registering one’s claims in insolvency proceedings can be fraught with risk. Often, creditors who register their receivables vis-àvis the debtor under the Insolvency Act are unaware of the dangerous consequences of their seemingly innocuous registration of claims.

This update looks at recent decisions reached by the Constitutional Court and the insolvency court when deciding on a nullity plea in insolvency proceedings.

In the Czech Republic, insolvency proceedings are open to misuse through objectionable and rather unethical anti-competitive means. An insolvency petition submitted at an opportune moment can have serious consequences for competitors.

Welcome to the fifth edition of this publication which has been compiled by the Salans Global Corporate Group comprising experienced lawyers from each of our 22 offices. Previous editions have dealt with: the establishment of companies and partnerships in key jurisdictions; the use of warranties in international acquisitions; the issue and transfer of securities in key jurisdictions;and governmental approvals and third party consents in corporate transactions.