I. WHY THIS TOPIC IS IMPORTANT
I. WHY THIS TOPIC IS IMPORTANT
I. WHY THIS TOPIC IS IMPORTANT
I. WHY THIS TOPIC IS IMPORTANT
In modern supply chains, companies depend on reliable suppliers. When a company’s direct supplier (contractor) starts facing financial difficulties, problems can escalate quickly. If the contractor can no longer pay its own upstream supplier, that upstream supplier may halt deliveries - triggering production shutdowns that cascade through the entire supply chain. This, in turn, may lead to (actually financially sound) downstream companies facing substantial liability exposure vis-à-vis their own customers.
Der EuGH hat mit Urteil vom 19.03.2026 (C-43/25, „SML Maschinen") entschieden, dass sich der Empfänger von Rückzahlungen auf ein Gesellschafterdarlehen nicht auf Art. 13 EuInsVO 2000 (bzw. Art. 16 EuInsVO n.F.) berufen kann, um ein Rückforderungsverlangen des Insolvenzverwalters abzuwehren, wenn dieses der Durchsetzung des insolvenzrechtlichen Forderungsnachrangs dient.
Sachverhalt
In many industries, the supply chain can involve multiple suppliers and jurisdictions. In the current economic climate, it is not unusual for a supplier within the supply chain to encounter financial distress or even to enter into formal insolvency proceedings. This can have a significant impact on a company if its business depends on a distressed supplier and an alternative or additional supplier cannot be found (and production cannot be brought in house) or an alternative sourcing is not possible for other reasons, like part/raw material approval process, testing, customs etc.
In vielen Branchen kann die Lieferkette eine Vielzahl von Unternehmen und Jurisdiktionen umfassen. Im derzeitigen Wirtschaftsklima ist es nicht ungewöhnlich, dass einzelne Lieferanten innerhalb dieser Lieferkette in finanzielle Schwierigkeiten geraten oder ein Insolvenzverfahren beantragen.
With the Act on the Temporary Suspension of the Insolvency Filing Obligation Due to Heavy Rainfall and Floods in July 2021 (Gesetz zur vorübergehenden Aussetzung der Insolvenzantragspflicht wegen Starkregenfällen und Hochwassern im Juli 2021), which is part of the Reconstruction Assistance Act 2021 (Aufbauhilfegesetzes 2021), the German Federal Parliament and the German Federal Council have decided to suspend the obligation to file for insolvency retroactively as of 10 July 2021.
With each extension, the scope of the suspension of the obligation to file for insolvency which was first introduced in March 2020 became more and more limited.