What specific provisions does the new law contain for tenancies?
The following article is the translation of an associated podcast, which is available in German here.
Wenn es eilt, bietet die ZPO Mittel und Wege, schnell ans Ziel zu kommen. Der Eilrechtsschutz ist in der COVID-19-Pandemie daher stark im Fokus. Es stellen sich Fragen wie „, Können die Gerichte helfen, die Lieferkette zu stützen?, Wie lässt sich ein Eilverfahren derzeit praktisch durchführen?, Ist durch ‚Corona‘ jetzt alles dringlich?“. Dieser Beitrag unserer Reihe „Coronavirus & Zivilprozess“ verschafft einen Überblick.
Überblick: Eilrechtsschutz mittels Arrest und einstweiliger Verfügung
Mit dem Artikelgesetz zur Abmilderung der Folgen der COVID-19-Pandemie im Zivil-, Insolvenz- und Strafverfahrensrecht und dem darin enthaltenen COVID-19-Insolvenzaussetzungsgesetz (COVInsAG) vom 27. März 2020 wurde die Pflicht zur Stellung eines Insolvenzantrags (§ 15a InsO) in den sogleich näher beschriebenen Fällen (siehe Ziff. 1) vorübergehend suspendiert und damit zugleich eine mögliche Strafbarkeit wegen des Vorwurfs der Insolvenzverschleppung (siehe Ziff. 2).
In response to the COVID-10 pandemic, the German legislator enacted a new law to suspend the mandatory obligations to file for insolvency proceedings and to mitigate liability risks for managing directors and creditors. According to the "Act to Mitigate the Consequences of the COVID-19 Pandemic in Civil, Insolvency and Criminal Procedural Law", the obligation to file for insolvency proceedings is suspended on a temporary basis for companies facing an insolvency due to 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.
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.
With unanimous vote, the German Parliament passed the Law to mitigate the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in civil, criminal and insolvency law. This new law brings with it several (temporary) changes of law all of which aim at mitigating the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in both private and business life. Inter alia, the following provisions have been implemented:
1. Suspension of the obligation to file for insolvency
On March 23, 2020, the German Federal Government (Bundesregierung) published a draft bill to mitigate the consequences of the COVID-19 in civil, insolvency and criminal procedural law.
On 23 March 2020, the German Federal Cabinet adopted further urgent measures to mitigate the economic consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. The package of measures includes an emergency aid programme for micro-enterprises, self-employed persons and freelancers of up to EUR 50 billion and an economic stabilisation fund of EUR 600 billion as well as a Law to mitigate the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic in civil law, insolvency law and criminal proceedings.