POLAND Law and Practice Contributed by: Karol Tatara, Paweł Kuglarz, Anna Czarnota and Mateusz Kaliński, Tatara & Partners Restructuring & Insolvency Law Firm
Shareholders’ rights are taken into account only in a situation where they are also creditors of the debtor.
be initiated and continued by none other than the trustee, who conducts proceedings on behalf of the bankrupt, but in the trustee’s name. Enforcement proceedings initiated prior to the dec - laration of bankruptcy should, by operation of law, be stayed on the date of declaration of bankruptcy. Once the decision on declaring bankruptcy becomes final and non-appealable, such proceedings should, by operation of law, be discontinued. Declaring bank - ruptcy is not an obstacle to awarding immovable prop - erty ownership if the bid for the property was validly knocked down prior to the declaration of bankruptcy and the execution acquirer pays the acquisition price on time. 5.2 Course of the Liquidation Procedure Milestones of Insolvency Proceedings Insolvency proceedings take place over a period of time, but many actions may be taken simultaneously. The following milestones can be observed. First of all, the date and deadline for submitting claims by the creditors. Delayed filing is acceptable, but a mandatory fee is then required and, regardless of the reason for the delay, acts already transacted under the bankruptcy proceedings have effect against this creditor. Submission of claims has no bearing on the distribution plans already submitted and the creditor’s recognised receivable debt is taken into account only in the plans made after the recognition thereof. Later on, the list of receivable debts is submitted and made available in the bankruptcy court for examina - tion. The creditor (and also, under certain circum - stances, the debtor) has the right to file an objection, and appeal if the objection is unsuccessful. In the meantime, the liquidation is processed by the trustee. The distribution plans are drafted and approved, as they constitute a legal basis for the dis - bursement towards the creditors. Distribution plans may also be appealed. In addition, ineffectiveness and claw-back legal actions may be issued by the trustee independently during the course of proceedings.
5. Statutory Insolvency and Liquidation Procedures 5.1 The Different Types of Liquidation Procedure Insolvency Proceedings Under Polish law, there is one insolvency procedure – liquidation bankruptcy. The Bankruptcy Law stipulates that as a result of declaring bankruptcy, the debtor loses the right to manage and operate their business. The trustee appointed by the bankruptcy court is the person who temporarily (for the duration of the bank - ruptcy proceedings) takes over the duty to manage and operate the debtor’s business. The court and the appointed judge-commissioner supervise the trustee and issue several decisions within the course of the proceedings. A creditors’ committee may be estab - lished and given several competencies of the judge- commissioner. Individual creditors may also receive information and play an active role in the proceedings. The recent amendments to the Bankruptcy Law intro - duced a new solution for debtors who are natural per - sons, other than sole traders (consumer debtors), by implementing the possibility to conclude an arrange - ment between the debtor and the creditors. Moreo - ver, consumer bankruptcy proceedings provide for the institution of residual debt release. Once a part of the debtor’s obligations is fulfilled in accordance with the creditors’ repayment plan, the debtor may be released from the rest of their liabilities. Liquidation In Poland, it is possible to liquidate a company or part - nership by way of liquidation proceedings regulated under the Commercial Companies Code. Stay of enforcement Under the Bankruptcy Law, declaring bankruptcy results in a stay of enforcement proceedings, and the issuance of a moratorium to commence such proceedings. Regarding other legal proceedings – if bankruptcy is declared by the court, administrative proceedings in respect of the bankruptcy estate may
385 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook