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.
Several new Swiss laws and amendments have entered into force as of January 1 2014. For firms doing business in Switzerland, changes in executive compensation regulation, in reorganisation proceedings and in respect to redundancy plans are among the most important ones.
The Minder initiative
In Switzerland, the preceding year was char- acterised by animated discussion on executive compensation which resulted in two mile- stone decisions on national constitutional ref-
What happens to a license agreement on insolvency of one of the parties? The answer depends not only on the terms of the license agreement and the law that governs that agreement, but also on the laws of the place where the insolvent party is located.
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.
Introduction
Due to the prevalence of the territoriality principle in Swiss bankruptcy law, a foreign bankruptcy trustee's powers to act in Switzerland are limited. In general, a foreign trustee is not allowed to collect assets located in Switzerland, even if it is competent to act under the applicable foreign law. A foreign bankruptcy trustee may, in principle, only apply for recognition of the foreign bankruptcy decree and request protective measures.
GesKR 4 2014 536Entscheidbesprechungen déloyale et de faux dans les titres, ainsi que des griefs d’abus de confiance, banqueroute frauduleuse, diminution effective de l’actif au préjudice des créanciers et gestion fautive. Le Tribunal pénal de Zoug n’est, par ailleurs, pas entré en matière sur les prétentions civiles émises par les créanciers cessionnaires. A., de même que les créanciers cessionnaires ont interjeté recours contre le jugement de première instance auprès du Tribunal cantonal (Obergericht) de Zoug.
This decision is the latest development in the bitterly disputed enforcement case of a $932 million Swiss arbitration award confirmed by the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York in favor of a Dutch judgment creditor, Sonera Holding B.V. (“Sonera”), against a Turkish judgment debtor, Cukurova Holding A. (“Cukurova”).
This article tries to provide a brief overview of the problems which directors of a financially impaired company are facing under Swiss law.