Review article
https://doi.org/10.30925/zpfsr.45.1.10
Legal Position of State Aid in Insolvency Proceedings
Lidija Šimunović
; J. J. Strossmayer University of Osijek, Faculty of Law Osijek
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Abstract
Article 11, paragraph 7 of the Bankruptcy Act (hereinafter referred to as the BA) stipulates that the procedures and measures in which creditors decide, which depart from the collective settlement of creditors by cashing in the debtor’s property and dividing the collected funds among creditors, are appropriately applied which govern the area of state aid. This is the only provision of the BA that deals with the topic of state aid in insolvency proceedings. The aforementioned provision explicitly implies that in all procedures and measures in which the debtor’s business continues (e.g., pre-bankruptcy proceedings or bankruptcy proceedings with the implementation of a bankruptcy plan), the rules of state aid take precedence over the rules of the BA. In addition, even though it is not explicitly prescribed by the BA, the state aid rules should also be applied appropriately in other insolvency proceedings in which the debtor’s business ceases (e.g., bankruptcy with liquidation). This conclusion is imposed because EU state aid law is directly applicable in national law. The paper starts with an analysis of the specificity of state aid in insolvency proceedings and a comparison of the goals and purposes of these legal areas. It then addresses the issue of proper reporting, examination, and settlement of claims for the return of state aid in insolvency proceedings. In the final part of the paper, instructions are given on how to properly apply rules of state aid in insolvency proceedings and not violate any of the rules of these two legal areas and achieve their goals and purposes, as well as de lege ferenda guidelines.
Keywords
state aid; private creditor test; economic continuity test; filing of claims; bankruptcy; pre-bankruptcy
Hrčak ID:
316025
URI
Publication date:
15.4.2024.
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