A recent decision of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court clarified the question whether a Swiss ancillary bankruptcy estate has standing to contest a schedule of claims of a bankrupt Swiss third-party debtor if the foreign bankruptcy estate filed the respective claims directly and regardless of the recognition of the foreign bankruptcy decree. In essence, the Swiss Federal Supreme Court denied the standing of the ancillary bankruptcy estate as it may in such cases not be considered a creditor of the respective claims.
In Decision 5A_910/2019, the Swiss Supreme Court considered that an award rendered in a foreign arbitration may be recognised and enforced in Switzerland, even if the award was rendered after a party went bankrupt. The subject matter of the arbitration does not become non-arbitrable following a party's bankruptcy, if the arbitration was initiated before bankruptcy.
In a recently published decision, the Swiss Supreme Court dismissed an appeal against a lower court judgment recognising and enforcing an LCIA award.
Key takeaways
The revision of the Insurance Supervision Act (ISA) includes new provisions regarding the restructuring framework for insurance companies. Most recently on 3 May 2021, the draft ISA proposed by the government in October 2020 took a first hurdle in parliament. As one of two parliament chambers, the National Council (Nationalrat) discussed and adopted, among other changes, a new set of rules regarding the restructuring of insurance companies that are in financial distress.
The COVID-19 crisis is causing financial difficulties for numerous companies. Often, bankruptcy seems to be the only escape. Based on the characteristics of US Chapter 11 proceedings, Swiss restructuring law was revised in 2014 so that judicial composition proceedings could be made more effective.
Wir beziehen uns auf das Schreiben vom 19. Oktober 2020 betreffend die Eröffnung der Vernehmlassung zum Entwurf der Verordnung zur Anpassung des Bundesrechts an Entwicklungen der Technik verteilter elektronischer Register und bedanken uns bestens für die Gelegenheit zur Stellungna
Wir beziehen uns auf das Schreiben vom 19. Oktober 2020 betreffend die Erffnung der Vernehmlassung zum Entwurf der Verordnung zur Anpassung des Bundesrechts an Entwicklungen der Technik verteilter elektronischer Register und bedanken uns bestens fr die Gelegenheit zur Stellungnahme.
The current Coronavirus crisis is opening up opportunities for competitors as well as investors to purchase businesses in financial distress. While such businesses may be often acquired on advantageous terms, these transactions can also entail various significant legal risks.
Am 16. März 2020 beschloss der Bundesrat den Lockdown. Letzteres führte dazu, dass unzählige Unternehmen in einen Liquiditätsengpass gerieten. Um Massenkonkurse abzuwenden, wurde der Rechtsstillstand bis zum 19. April 2020 verordnet. Zudem konnten Kredite zur Überbrückung von Corona-bedingten Engpässen bezogen werden. Trotz oder gerade durch diese Massnahmen gerieten viele Unternehmen in finanzielle Schieflage. Per 20. April 2020 erliess der Bundesrat sodann die sog COVID-19-Verordnung, eine Verordnung über insolvenzrechtliche Massnahmen zur Bewältigung der Coronakrise.
What is a debt-restructuring moratorium?
Since 20 April 2020, both the judicial and debt collection pauses have ended. The legal standstill decreed by the Swiss Federal Council in accordance with Art. 62 of the Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act (DEBA) has thus expired. For a business that, despite the emergency aid provided by the Swiss government and the cantons, is still unable to meet its obligations (immediately) but wishes to continue its business activities, the question arises as to how it can obtain creditor protection.
Due to the COVID-19 crisis, many companies in Switzerland could face bankruptcy.
On April 20, 2020, the Swiss (only German) came into force, after an emergency legal freeze ended on April 19, 2020 (see our blog post "Federal Council orders a nationwide stay of debt enforcement proceedings"). However, no end of the corona pandemic is in sight.