A creditor of a debt in Switzerland can file a debt collection request against the debtor to enforce its claim. The debt collection proceedings will eventually lead to the seizure of the debtor's assets. If the enforcement proceedings are unsuccessful and the debtor's assets are insufficient to cover the creditor's claim, the debt collection authorities will issue a loss certificate confirming the part of the claim which was not covered by the proceeds.
The debt restructuring proceedings of former national carrier Swissair are still ongoing and keeping the courts busy.
Stilli Park declares bankruptcy
Recent case law
Stilli Park declares bankruptcy
On June 2 2014 Stilli Park AG, the leaseholder of the Intercontinental Davos – a hotel with the singular shape of a golden egg – declared bankruptcy.
Drawing on the experiences gained from the Swissair grounding in 2001, many critical voices have been raised that Swiss insolvency law should be revised and should focus more on the restructuring of companies rather than their liquidation. Now, 12 years after the commencement of the Swissair insolvency proceedings and after various discussions and negotiations in the Swiss parliament, the revised Swiss insolvency law finally entered into force as of 1 January 2014.
The insolvency of Petroplus has increased the few debt moratorium cases by one and reminded us of its importance. Despite a comprehensive revision of the Swiss Debt Collection and Bankruptcy Act in 1997 there has been little change to the fundamental idea of bankruptcy law that both available options, namely bankruptcy and debt moratorium, lead mostly to the same result and that is: liquidation.
The Zurich High Court,(1) as court of second instance, recently dismissed a liability claim, to the amount of €150 million, initiated by the liquidator of Swissair against former members of Swissair's board of directors.