Background

By way of introduction it should be stated that under Czech law, certain legal acts (voidable transactions) can be opposed pursuant to the Civil Code as well as the Insolvency Act. There are therefore two kinds of opposition rights: general (i.e. outside of insolvency) and insolvency right to oppose, whereby the latter can be generally applied during insolvency proceedings, while the former cannot.

The decision

Key points

Yet another major amendment to the Insolvency Act has been recently approved by the Czech government and passed to the Chamber of Deputies. The amendment is expected to become legally binding at the beginning of 2017. However, this timing does not allow for any potential obstacles or prolonged proceedings, which are common features of the Czech Parliamentary process.

Revising existing methods for the allocation of insolvency cases

A Creditor registered his claim into insolvency proceedings against the debtor within 30 days of the  publication of the resolution on the debtor's bankruptcy in the insolvency register. The Creditor´s insolvency application regarding the claim was refused by the insolvency court because the resolution on the debtor´s bankruptcy had been previously published in the file of the debtor’s spouse’s  insolvency proceedings.

On 5 March 2013, the Government submitted a groundbreaking bill amending Act No. 182/2006 Coll. on bankruptcy and settlement (the Insolvency Act) and Act No. 312/2006 Coll. on insolvency administrators to the Chamber of Deputies of Czech Parliament, which approved the bill on 8 August 2013.

The objective of the proposed legislation is not only to reflect changes arising from private law recodification, but also to comprehensively revise proablem areas in existing insolvency proceedings legislation.

In its decision of 11 July 2013, Reference No. 21 ICdo 21/2012, the Supreme Court of the Czech Republic comprehensively expressed its opinion on the substantive legal aspects of re-pledging a receivable burdened by a lien and the possibility of negotiating a contractual waiver of re-pledging receivables. According to the decision, the pledging of a receivable does not preclude the possibility of establishing another lien on the same receivable. This decision is crucial for pledgees, typically financing banks.

Case background

In the current climate, the demand for jobs substantially exceeds the supply. Even so, for employers it can still be difficult to find a quality employee who meets the specific requirements for the given job. Once a suitable employee is found for the vacant position, they complete the usual formalities – submitting documents on their education, health and evidence of criminal records, agree with the employer on wages and other conditions of the employment and sign the labor contract.

On 23 February, the European Commission (“Commission”) opened an in-depth investigation, to verify whether the measures notified in the context of the restructuring of the Czech national flag carrier Czech Airlines are in line with the EU rescue and restructuring aid guidelines. The measures comprise a loan of CZK 2.5 billion (around €94 million) granted by the State-owned undertaking Osinek under allegedly preferential conditions, its later de-collateralisation and transformation into equity capital and a potential guarantee for the purchase of an airplane.

Following last edition’s article on the insolvency proceedings of the market-leading Czech betting company, we would like to provide an update on the progress of the company’s insolvency proceedings.

In the last week of January, the Czech Government passed an amendment to the Insolvency Act, which was prepared by the Ministry of Justice. The aim of the amendment is to respond to the growing widespread practice of the filing of unjustified insolvency petitions by creditors. The amendment intends to allow courts to reject such petitions.

During the current economic downturn the number of insolvency proceedings in the Czech Republic continuously increases. The insolvency legislation plays a key role in insolvency proceedings. Given the tough conditions on the market, we are witnessing higher numbers of bullying insolvency petitions submitted against debtors.