In recent years, it has become increasingly common for companies in North Macedonia to choose arbitration as the method for resolving disputes in cooperation agreements, instead of judicial proceedings, which usually take considerably longer. However, the Macedonian legislature has not fully regulated all the legal aspects related to arbitration procedures.
One key issue that remains unaddressed is the impact of an open bankruptcy proceeding against the debtor registered in North Macedonia on an ongoing arbitration process where the debtor is a respondent.
Government of Montenegro enacted a Bill on amendments of the Bankruptcy Law, in an effort to make the bankruptcy proceedings more efficient and straightforward, but it also offers significant amendments to the provisions regulating bankruptcy administrators’ appointment and status.
As a result of major market changes, business entities more often suspend their operations and become insolvent, during which arises the question of the collectability of the claims of their creditors and associates, as well as persons who are in other relationships with such insolvent business entities.
The legislative framework governing bankruptcy provides partial answers. However, certain questions still remain unanswered in the shining shadow of legal gaps.
Non-performing loans (NPL) are one of the principal problems of Serbian banking sector. Since 2009, number of domestic and international institutions have conducted various studies regarding NPL growth and have concluded that such growth is indicative of relevant macroeconomic factors. The main macroeconomic reasons for NPL growth in Serbia since 2008 have been increasing unemployment, currency depreciation and higher inflation rate.
The new Law on Consensual Financial Restructuring (“Official Gazette of RS“ No. 89/2015) which came into effect on November 4, 2015, began to be applied on February 3, 2016. As opposed to the previous Law on Consensual Financial Restructuring from 2011, which did not deliver the expected results with regard to decreasing number of irrecoverable debts, the new Law establishes a better legal framework for voluntary debt restructuring in Serbia.