Bankruptcy Systems and In-court Reorganisation of Firms, 2010 Content: 1. Perception of the Bancruptcy System... 2 2. Perception of In-court Reorganisation... 4 3. Perception of Creditor Committees, Fast Track Procedures and Court Specialisation... 5 4. Perception of Honest and Dishonest Bankruptcy... 6 The Business Dynamics Survey 2010 was carried out by the European Commission to analyse the economic impact of legal and administrative procedures for licensing, business transfers and bankruptcy on entrepreneurship in Europe. The study encompasses the 27 EU member states plus Croatia, Turkey, Iceland, Norway, Serbia and Montenegro. The information in the following tables is based solely on the views and perceptions of the survey s respondents. Source: European Commission (2011), Business Dynamics: Start ups, Business Transfers and Bankruptcy, Final Report, January 2011, Bruxelles.
1. Perception of the Bancruptcy System Type of law Early warning system Efficiency of out-of-courtsettlement Debtor/creditor friendly Pro / pro liquidation Austria German Civil Low Low Debtor friendly Pro Belgium French Civil Low n.a. n.a. Bulgaria Combined civil law (French and German civil law) Low Low Debtor friendly n.a. Croatia German Civil n.a. Very low Creditor friendly n.a. Cyprus Pluralistic law (elements from Common and Civil ) Medium Low Creditor friendly n.a. Czech Republic German Civil Low n.a. Creditor friendly n.a. Denmark High High Neutral n.a. Estonia German Civil High Low Neutral n.a. Finland High High Debtor friendly Low level of France French Civil Medium High Debtor friendly pro Germany German Civil Very high Medium Neutral n.a. Greece French Civil Low Low Creditor friendly n.a. Hungary Iceland Ireland Combined civil law (French and German civil law) Civil English Common Low n.a. Low level of Low High Debtor friendly n.a. Low Very low Neutral Low level of Italy French Civil Low Low Creditor friendly n.a. Latvia German Civil Low Very low Creditor friendly n.a. Lithuania Combined civil law (French and German civil law) Luxembourg French Civil n.a. Malta Pluralistic law (elements from Common and Civil ) High Very low Creditor friendly n.a. Low n.a. n.a. Netherlands French Civil High High Creditor friendly Low level of Norway Low Low Creditor friendly Low level of Poland French Civil Medium Very low Creditor friendly Pro Portugal French Civil Low Low Neutral n.a. Romania French Civil Medium Low n.a. Slovakia German Civil High Very high Neutral n.a. Page 2 of 6
1. Perception of the Bancruptcy System Type of law Early warning system Efficiency of out-of-courtsettlement Debtor/creditor friendly Slovenia German Civil n.a. Medium Neutral n.a. Pro / pro liquidation Spain French Civil Low High Creditor friendly Pro Sweden United Kingdom English Common Low High Neutral Low level of Very high Very high Creditor friendly Pro Montenegro German Civil Medium Medium Creditor friendly n.a. Serbia German Civil Low Low Creditor friendly n.a. Turkey German Civil n.a. n.a. Page 3 of 6
2. Perception of In-court Reorganisation Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia In-court- Specific in-court procedures for sole proprietorships Different procedures for honest & dishonest bankruptees Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Iceland Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Norway Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom Montenegro Serbia Turkey Page 4 of 6
3. Perception of Creditor Committees, Fast Track Procedures and Court Specialisation Do creditors committees exist for in-court procedures? Do fast track procedures exist for SMEs that file for? Are there courts and / or sections within courts specialized in restructuring and liquidation? Austria, but not compulsory No Belgium, but not compulsory Bulgaria, compulsory No No Croatia, compulsory No Cyprus Not existing No No Czech Republic, compulsory No Denmark Uncertain No Estonia, compulsory No No Finland, but not compulsory No France, but not compulsory Germany, compulsory No Greece, compulsory Uncertain No Hungary Not existing No No Iceland Not existing No No Ireland, but not compulsory Italy, compulsory Latvia Uncertain No No Lithuania, compulsory No Luxembourg, compulsory No Malta Uncertain No No Netherlands, but not compulsory Poland, but not compulsory No Portugal, compulsory Romania, compulsory Unclear Slovakia, compulsory Slovenia, compulsory Uncertain Spain Uncertain Sweden Uncertain No No United Kingdom, but not compulsory Unclear Montenegro Uncertain No Unclear Serbia, but not compulsory No Norway, but not compulsory No No Turkey Not existing No (according to legal eyperts opinion) Page 5 of 6
4. Perception of Honest and Dishonest Bankruptcy Separate liquidation proceedings exist for liquidation firms when frauds have been committed Special ''fast track'' liquidation proceedings exist in the case of an honest bankruptcy Special discharge proceedings exist for honest bankrupt entrepreneurs* Austria No No No Belgium, full discharge (all debts) Bulgaria No No No Croatia No No, partial discharge Cyprus Uncertain / not available No No Czech Republic No No, partial discharge Denmark No No Uncertain / not available Estonia Uncertain / not available No Finland No, partial discharge France, full discharge (all debts) Germany No No, full discharge (all debts) Greece No No No Hungary No, full discharge (all debts) Iceland No No No Ireland No No No Italy No No, full discharge (all debts) Latvia No No No Lithuania No Luxembourg No, full discharge (all debts) Malta No No, full discharge (all debts) Netherlands Uncertain / not available Uncertain / not available Poland No No No Portugal No No, partial discharge Romania No, full discharge (all debts) Slovakia No No No Slovenia No No Spain No Sweden No No No United Kingdom No No Montenegro No No No Serbia No No Uncertain / not available Norway No Uncertain / not available Turkey No, partial discharge Page 6 of 6