The economic shock and disruption caused by the outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2-Virus (COVID-19-pandemic) resulted in unprecedented circumstances for companies and prompted recent emergency rescue measures by the German legislator. In the following, we are highlighting two major legislative measures that will come into force in the next few days.
Legislative changes to mitigate the consequences of the COVID-19-pandemic with respect to specific contract, corporate, insolvency and criminal law matters (the “COVInsAG”)
On March 25, 2020, the German Bundestag passed the “Act on Mitigation of the Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Civil, Insolvency and Criminal Proceedings” (“Act”) as part of the so-called “Corona Package.” The Act passed the German Federal States’ Assembly (“Bundesrat”) in a special session on March 27, 2020, and came into force on the same day.
Die Internationale Handelskammer (International Chamber of Commerce, ICC) hat die von ihr empfohlenen Vertragsklauseln zu höherer Gewalt (force majeure) und unvorhergesehenen Leistungserschwernissen (hardship) im März aktualisiert. In Zeiten der Corona-Krise rücken solche, in der Vergangenheit nur selten relevante Klauseln in den Blickpunkt und es ist sinnvoll, eigene Verträge darauf durchzusehen, ob diese insofern für die Zukunft optimiert werden können.
The federal government intends to offer companies that are negatively impacted by the corona crisis and their corporate representatives time to conduct the necessary financing and restructuring negotiations. This has now been effected by the Act on the Temporary Suspension of the Obligation to File for Insolvency and to Limit the Liability of Corporate Bodies in the event of insolvencies caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the following, we provide an overview of government assistance that has already been implemented or is planned to mitigate the effects of COVID-19. The KfW Special Program is available as of March 23, 2020 and applications can be submitted. Please be advised that changes may occur at any time.
We are happy to assist you as you move forward and design a targeted and tailor-made reaction to the current challenges.
Die Bundesregierung möchte den durch die Coronakrise geschädigten Unternehmen und ihren organschaftlichen Vertretern Zeit geben, um die notwendigen Finanzierung und Sanierungsverhandlungen zu führen. Dies ist inzwischen durch das Gesetz zur vorübergehenden Aussetzung der Insolvenzantragspflicht und zur Begrenzung der Organhaftung bei einer durch die COVID-19-Pandemie bedingten Insolvenz geschehen.
The Law to mitigate the consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic in civil, insolvency and criminal procedure law ("Gesetz zur Abmilderung der Folgen der COVID-19-Pandemie im Zivil-, Insolvenz- und Strafverfahrensrecht") was adopted by the German Bundestag on 25 March and approved by the Bundesrat representing the federal states on 27 March 2020. With its draft published by the German Federal government on 23 March 2020, the implementation was probably the fastest legislative procedure of such scope in the history of the Federal Republic.
In response to the outbreak of COVID-19, the German federal and state governments have implemented several executive and legislative measures to support affected businesses in Germany. This newsletter provides an overview of the key measures which may be relevant to Japanese companies with operations in Germany. Naturally, there will be many questions and issues to be clarified, and we will be happy to use all our experience and local contacts to help answer and overcome them.
Overview
Die Möglichkeiten durch das Gesetz zur Abmilderung der Folgen der COVID-19-Pandemie im Zivil-, Insolvenz- und Strafverfahrensrecht für Startups.
In order to protect German companies and their employees against the economic impact of the coronavirus, the German government has resolved on 23 March 2020 on a comprehensive set of measures. It is the largest government support programme which was ever enacted in Germany. These measures even go beyond the support organized by the government during the financial crisis. The goal of this “protective shield” is to provide businesses with sufficient liquidity to help them make it through the crisis.