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Page 1 of 89 Übersetzung durch Ute Reusch
Translation provided by Ute Reusch
Stand: Die Übersetzung berücksichtigt die Änderung(en) des Gesetzes durch Artikel 19 des Gesetzes vom 20.12.2011 (BGBl. I S. 2854) und die mittelbare Änderung durch Artikel 18
des Gesetzes vom 20.12.2011 (BGBl. I S. 2854)
Version information: The translation includes the amendment(s) to the Act by Article 19 of
the Act of 20.12.2011 (Federal Law Gazette I p. 2854) and the indirect amendment to the Act
by Article 18 of the Act of 20.12.2011 (Fed eral Law Gazette I p. 2854)
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Insolvency Statute
Insolvency Statute of 5 October 1994 (Federal Law Gazette I page 2866), as last amended by Article 19 of the Act of 20 Decem ber 201 1 (Federal Law Gazette I page 2854)
Part One
General Provisions
Section 1
Objectives of the Insolvency Proceedings
The insolvency proceedings shall serve the purpose of collective satisfaction of a debtor's
creditors by liquidation of the debtor's assets and by distribution of the proceeds, or by
reaching an arrangement in an insolvency plan, particularly in order to maintain the
enterprise. Honest debtors shall be given the opport unity to achieve discharge of residual
debt.
Section 2
Jurisdiction of the Local Court as Insolvency Court
(1) The local court in whose district a regional court is located shall have exclusive
jurisdiction for insolvency proceedings as the insolvency cour t for the district of such regional
court.
(2) The governments of the Länder shall be empowered to designate other or additional local
courts as insolvency courts by means of a statutory instrument for the purposes of expedient
furtherance or expedited conduct of proceedings, and to determine different districts of
insolvency courts. The governments of the Länder may delegate such power to the judicial
administrations of the Länder.
Section 3
Local Jurisdiction
(1) The insolvency court in whose district the debtor has his place of general jurisdiction shall
have exclusive local jurisdiction. If the centre of the debtor's self -employed business activity
is located elsewhere, the insolvency court in whose district such place is located shall have exclusive jur isdiction.
(2) If several courts have jurisdiction, the court first requested to open the insolvency
proceedings shall exclude any other jurisdiction.
Section 4
Applicability of the Code of Civil Procedure (Zivilprozessordnung)
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Page 2 of 89 Unless this Statute provides otherwise, the provisions contained in the Code of Civil
Procedure shall apply to the insolvency proceedings mutatis mutandis.
Section 4a
Deferment of the Costs of the Insolvency Proceedings
(1) If the debtor is a natural person and if he has made a request for discharge of residual
debt, the costs of the insolvency proceedings shall be deferred on request until such time as
discharge of residual debt is awarded, insofar as his assets are likely not to be sufficient to
cover these costs. Deferment in accor dance with the first sentence shall also cover the costs
of the proceedings regarding the plan for the settlement of debts and the proceedings for
discharge of residual debt. The debtor shall enclose with the request a declaration as to
whether one of the grounds for refusal contained in s ection 290 subs ection (1) nos. 1 and 3
pertains. Deferment shall be ruled out if such a reason pertains.
(2) If the costs of the proceedings are deferred to the debtor, on request a lawyer of his choice shall be appointed who is willing to represent him if representation by counsel
appears to be necessary in spite of the duty of assistance incumbent on the court.
Section 121 subs ections (3) to (5) of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply mutatis
mutandis.
(3) The effect of deferment shall be as follows:
1. the Federal or Land cash office may claim
a) court costs in arrears and those arising,
b) the claims of the appointed lawyer which transfer to the cash office
against the debtor only in accordance with the provisions made by the court;
2. the appointed lawyer is unable to assert claims for fees against the debtor.
Deferment shall be effected separately in respect of each stage of the proceedings. Until such time as a decision is made regarding deferment, the effects speci fied in the first
sentence shall apply on an interim basis. S ection 4b subs ection (2) shall apply mutatis
mutandis.
Section 4b
Repayment and Adjustment of Deferred Amounts
(1) If the debtor is unable, once discharge of residual debt has been awarded, to pa y the
deferred amount from his income and his assets, the court may extend deferment and set
the monthly instalments to be paid. S ection 115 subs ections (1) to (3), as well as s ection 120
subs ection (2) of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(2) The court may alter the ruling regarding the deferment and the monthly instalments at
any time insofar as any personal or economic circumstances relevant to the deferment have
undergone major changes. The debtor shall be obliged to report to the court a major change
in these circumstances without delay. S ection 120a subs ection (1), second and third
sentences, of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply mutatis mutandis. A change placing the debtor at a disadvantage shall be ruled out if four year s have passed since termination of
the proceedings.
Section 4c
Rescission of Deferment
The court may rescind deferment if
1. the debtor intentionally or with gross negligence has provided incorrect
information regarding circumstances relevant to the opening of the insolvency
proceedings or to the deferment, or has not submitted a declaration required by the court
regarding his circumstances;
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Page 3 of 89 2. the personal or economic preconditions for deferment did not apply; in such a
case, rescission shall be ruled out if four years have passed since termination of the
proceedings;
3. the debtor is more than three months in arrears in respect of payment of a
monthly instalment or of the payment of another amount and such arrears are his fault;
4. the debtor is not in sui table gainful employment and, if he is unemployed, is not
looking for employment or rejects acceptable employment; s ection 296 subs ection (2),
second and third sentences, shall apply mutatis mutandis;
5. discharge of residual debt is refused or revoked.
Section 4d
Legal Recourse
(1) Immediate appeal shall be available to the debtor against refusal to defer or rescission of
deferment, as well as against refusal to appoint a lawyer.
(2) If deferment is approved, the state cash office shall be entitled to file an immediate
appeal. The latter may only be based on the fact that deferment should have been rejected given the personal or economic circumstances of the debtor.
Section 5
Principles of the Insolvency Proceedings
(1) The insolvency court shall investigat e ex officio all circumstances relevant to insolvency
proceedings. In particular, the court may hear witnesses and experts for this purpose.
(2) If the debtor's financial circumstances are comprehensible and the number of creditors or the amount of the obl igations are low, the insolvency court may order that the proceedings or
individual stages in the proceedings be conducted as written proceedings. It may rescind or
amend such order at any time. Such order, rescission or amendment shall be published.
(3) T he court may render its decisions without an oral hearing. If an oral hearing is held,
section 227 subs ection (3), first sentence, of the Code of Civil Procedure shall not apply.
(4) Tables and records may be prepared and processed automatically. The gover nments of
the Länder shall be empowered to establish more detailed provisions by means of a
statutory instrument regarding the keeping of such tables and records, their electronic
submission, as well as the electronic submission of accompanying documents and their storage. They may also establish requirements regarding the data formats required for electronic submission. The governments of the Länder may delegate such power to the
judicial administrations of the Länder.
Section 6
Immediate Appeal
(1) Decisi ons of the insolvency court shall be subject to an appellate remedy only in those
cases where this Statute provides for an immediate appeal. The immediate appeal shall be
filed with the insolvency court.
(2) The period within which an immediate appeal has to be brought shall begin on the day
when the court announces its decision or when a decision is served on the parties if not
announced.
(3) The decision regarding the appeal shall only be effective when it becomes final.
However, the court hearing the app eal may order immediate effectiveness of the decision.
Section 7
(deleted)
Section 8
Service
(1) Documents shall be served ex officio without the document to be served requiring certification. Service may be effected by posting the documents to the address ee under his
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Page 4 of 89 address; s ection 184 subs ection (2), first, second and fourth sentences, of the Code of Civil
Procedure shall apply mutatis mutandis. Where the service is to be made on domestic
territory, the document shall be deemed to have been served three days after being
dispatched.
(2) Service shall not be made to persons with unknown residence. If such persons have a representative empowered to receive any documents to be served, the documents shall be
served on such representative.
(3) The insolvency c ourt may charge the insolvency administrator with serving the
documents in accordance with subs ection (1). He may use a third party, in particular his own
staff, to serve the documents and to file them. The insolvency administrator shall add the
notices gi ven in accordance with s ection 184 subs ection (2), fourth sentence, of the Code of
Civil Procedure, to the court files without delay.
Section 9
Publication
(1) Publication shall by made by notification in a central and national publication on the Internet *, such publication may be restricted to excerpts. Documents to be published shall
mention the debtor's particulars with special reference to his address and his branch of
business. Such publication shall be deemed to have been effected when two additional days
following the day of publication have expired.
(2) The insolvency court may occasion additional publications where this is laid down in Land
legislation. The Federal Ministry of Justice shall be empowered to regulate the details of the
central and nat ional publication on the Internet by means of a statutory instrument which
shall require the approval of the Bundesrat. In doing so, in particular deletion periods shall be
provided for, as shall regulations ensuring that the publications
1. remain intact, complete and up to date,
2. can be traced to their source at any time.
(3) Publication shall suffice as evidence of service on all parties to the proceedings even if
any provision additionally orders individual service.
* www.insolvenzbekanntmachungen.de
Section 10
Hearing of the Debtor
(1) If any provision requires a hearing of the debtor, such hearing may be waived if the debtor is resident in a foreign country and such hearing would unreasonably delay the
proceedings, or if the debtor's residence is unk nown. In such a case a representative or
relation of the debtor should be heard.
(2) If the debtor is not a natural person, subs ection (1) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the
hearing of persons entitled to represent the debtor or holding his shares. If the debtor is a
legal person and such legal person has no organ representatives (no management), the
persons with a participating interest in it may be heard; subs ection (1), first sentence, shall
apply mutatis mutandis.
Part Two
Opening of the Insolvency Pro ceedings.
Involved Assets and Parties
Chapter One
Prerequisites of Opening and Opening Proceedings
Section 11
Admissibility of Insolvency Proceedings
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Page 5 of 89 (1) Insolvency proceedings may be opened for the assets owned by any natural person or
legal person. An un incorporated association in this respect shall be deemed equivalent to a
legal person.
(2) Insolvency proceedings may also be opened for:
1. the assets owned by a company without legal personality (general commercial
company, limited partnership, professional partnership, company under the Civil Code
(Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch), shipping company, EEIG);
2. under s ections 315 to 334, the estate of a deceased person, the joint marital
property of a continued community or the marital property of a community jointly
administered by both spouses.
(3) After liquidation of a legal person or a company without legal personality, insolvency
proceedings may be opened as long as the assets have not been distributed.
Section 12
Legal Persons under Public Law
(1) Insolvency proceedings may not be opened for the assets owned by
1. the Federation or a Land;
2. a legal person under public law under the supervision of a Land if the law
of the Land exempts such legal person from insolvency proceedings.
(2) If the law of a Land ex empts the assets owned by a legal person from insolvency
proceedings under subs ection (1) no. 2, the employees of such legal person in case of its
insolvency or overindebtedness may apply to the Land for benefits due to them in case of
insolvency proceedin gs opened under the provisions of the Third Book of the Social Code
(Drittes Buch Sozialgesetzbuch) governing insolvency substitute benefits from the Employment Agency and under the provisions of the Act to Improve Occupational Pensions
(Gesetz zur Verbess erung der betrieblichen Altersversorgung) from the institution ensuring
insolvency insurance.
Section 13
Request to Open Insolvency Proceedings
(1) Insolvency proceedings shall be opened on written request only. Such request may be
filed by the creditors a nd by the debtor. The debtor shall enclose with his request a list of
creditors and their claims. If the debtor has a business which has not been discontinued, the
list must specifically indicate
1. the largest claims ,
2. the largest secured claims ,
3. claims of the revenue administration,
4. claims of the social insurance agencies and
5. claims resulting from employee pension schemes .
In such cases the debtor must also state the balance sheet total , sales revenues and the
average number of employees in the previous business year. The debtor s hall be obliged to
provide the information referred to in the fourth sentence if
1. the debtor files a request for debtor -in-possession management ,
2. the debtor fulfils the criteria set out in section 22a subsection (1) or
3. the appointment of a provisional creditors' committee has been requested .
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Page 6 of 89 The list referred to in the third sentence and the information referred to in the fourth and fifth
sentences shall be accompanied by a declaration that the information is cor rect and
complete.
(2) Such request may be withdrawn until the insolvency court opens the insolvency proceedings or the request has been refused with final effect.
(3) The Federal Ministry of Justice shall be empowered, by means of a statutory instrument
which shall require the approval of the Bundesrat, to introduce a form to be used by the
debtor to file a request. Where such a form has been introduced in accordance with the first
sentence, the debtor must use that form. Separate forms may be used for proceedings
which courts process automatically and for those they do not process automatically .
Section 14
Request by the Creditor
(1) A creditor's request shall be admissible if he has a legal interest in the opening of the
insolvency proceedings, and shows his claim and the reason why insolvency proceedings should be opened to the satisfaction of the court. If a request for the opening of insolvency
proceedings on the debtor's assets was already filed in the two years prior to the request
being filed, the re quest shall not become inadmissible solely on account of the claim being
satisfied. In such cases the creditor must also show the previous request to the satisfaction
of the court.
(2) If a request is admissible, the insolvency court shall hear the debtor.
(3) If the creditor's claim is satisfied after filing of the request, the debtor shall carry the costs of the proceedings in the event of the request being rejected as unfounded.
Section 15
Right of Request in the Case of Legal Persons and Associations Without Legal
Personality
(1) As well as the creditors, any member of the representative entity or, in the case of a
company without legal personality or of a public partly limited partnership , any general
partner, and any liquidator shall be entitled to req uest the opening of insolvency proceedings
for the assets owned by such legal person or company without legal personality. In the
absence of management of a legal person, each shareholder , in the case of a public limited
company or a cooperative also each member of the supervisory board, shall be entitled to
file a request.
(2) If such request is not filed by all members of the board of directors, all general partners,
all the partners of a legal person, all the members of the supervisory board, or all liquidators,
it shall be admissible if the reason why insolvency proceedings should be opened is shown
to the satisfaction of the court. In addition, if a request is filed by the partners of a legal
person or by the members of the supervisory board, the lack of management must also be
shown to the satisfaction of the court. The insolvency court shall hear the other members of
the board of directors, general partners, partners of the legal person, members of the
supervisory board or liquidators.
(3) If in the case of a company without legal personality none of the general partners is an
natural person, subs ections (1) and (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the members of the
board of directors, to the general partners and to the liquidators of the partners empow ered
to represent the company. The same shall apply if the grouping of companies continues in this way.
Section 15a
Obligation to Request in the Case of Legal Persons and Associations Without Legal
Personality
(1) Where a legal person becomes illiquid or o verindebted, the members of the board of
directors or the liquidators shall file a request for the opening of proceedings without culpable
delay, at the latest, however, three weeks after the commencement of insolvency or
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Page 7 of 89 overindebtedness. The same shall apply to the organ representatives of the partners
authorized to represent the company or the liquidators in the case of a company without
legal personality where none of the general partners is a natural person; this shall not apply
if one of the general p artners is another company in which a general partner is a natural
person.
(2) In the case of a company within the meaning of subs ection (1), second sentence,
subs ection (1) shall apply correspondingly if the organ representatives of the partners
authorized to represent the company are, in turn, companies in which none of the general
partners is a natural person , or the grouping of companies continues in this way.
(3) Where a private limited company lacks a management, each partner, in the case of lack
of management of a public limited company or a cooperative each member of the
supervisory board, is also obligated to file a request, unless that person is not aware of the
insolvency or overindebtedness or the lack of management.
(4) Whoever, contrary to subs ection (1), first sentence, also in conjunction with the second
sentence or subs ection (2) or subs ection (3), does not file a request for the opening of
proceedings , does not correctly file a request or does not file a request in good time shall be
punished with imprisonment for not more than three years or a fine.
(5) If the perpetrator under subs ection (4) acts negligently, the punishment shall be
imprisonment for not more than one year or a fine.
Section 16
Reason to Open Insolvency Proceedings
The openi ng of insolvency proceedings shall require the existence of a reason to open such
proceedings.
Section 17
Insolvency
(1) Insolvency shall be the general reason to open insolvency proceedings.
(2) The debtor shall be deemed illiquid if he is unable to meet his mature obligations to pay.
Insolvency shall be presumed as a rule if the debtor has stopped payments.
Section 18
Imminent Insolvency
(1) If the debtor requests the opening of insolvency proceedings, imminent insolvency shall
also be a reason to open.
(2) The debtor shall be deemed to be faced with imminent insolvency if he is likely to be
unable to meet his existing obligations to pay on the date of their maturity.
(3) If in the case of a legal person, or of a company without legal personality, the request is
not filed by all members of the board of directors, all general partners or all liquidators,
subs ection (1) shall only apply if the person or persons filing the request are empowered to
represent the company or the partnership.
Section 19
Overindebtedness
(1) Overindebtedness shall also be a reason to open insolvency proceedings for a legal
person.
(2) Overindebtedness shall exist if the debtor's assets no longer cover his existing
obligations to pay, unless it is highly likely, considering the circumstances, that the enterprise will continue to exist. As regards claims in respect of the restitution of shareholder loans or
claims deriving from legal transactions corresponding in economic terms to such a loan, for
which the creditors and the debtor hav e agreed, in accordance with s ection 39
subs ection (2), that they shall rank lower behind the claims set out in s ection 39
subs ection (1), nos. 1 to 5 in the insolvency proceedings, consideration shall not be given to
the obligations under the first sentence.
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Page 8 of 89 (3) If none of the general partners of a company without legal personality is a natural person,
subs ections (1) and (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis. This shall not apply if the general
partners include another company with a natural person as general partner.
Section 20
Obligation of Disclosure and Cooperation During the Opening Proceedings.
Reference to Discharge of Residual Debt
(1) If the request to open insolvency proceedings is admissible, the debtor shall disclose to
the insolvency court such inf ormation as is necessary for a decision on the request, and
otherwise to support the court in the fulfilment of his duties. S ections 97, 98 and 101
subs ection (1), first and second sentences, and subs ection (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(2) If the debt or is a natural person, he shall be informed that he may obtain discharge of
residual debt in accordance with s ections 286 to 303.
Section 21
Decisions Ordering Provisional Measures
(1) The insolvency court shall take all measures appearing necessary in or der to avoid any
detriment to the financial status of the debtor for the creditors until the insolvency court
decides on the request. The debtor shall be entitled to file an immediate appeal against the
ordering of the measure.
(2) In particular, the court may
1. designate a provisional insolvency administrator to whom s ection 8
subs ection (3), as well as s ections 56, 56a and 58 to 66 shall apply mutatis mutandis;
1a. appoint a provisional creditors' committee, t o which section 67 subsection (2)
and sections 69 to 73 shall apply mutatis mutandis ; persons who bec ome creditors only
upon the opening of insolvency proceedings may also be appointed as members of the
creditors' committee;
2. impose a general prohibition on making dispositions on the debtor or order that
the debtor's dispositions shall require the consent of the provisional insolvency
administrator in order to become effective;
3. order a prohibition or provisional restriction on measures of execution against
the debtor unless immovables are involv ed;
4. order provisional interception of the debtor’s mail, in respect of which
sections 99 and 101 subs ection (1), first sentence, shall apply mutatis mutandis.
5. order that objects which would be covered by s ection 166 or their separate
satisfaction cou ld be requested if proceedings were to be opened may not be used or
collected by the creditors and that such objects may be used to continue the enterprise
insofar as they are of considerable significance therefor; s ection 169, second and third
sentences, shall apply mutatis mutandis; the creditor shall be recompensed by current
payments for any loss in value on account of such use. Such obligation to make
recompensing payments shall only exist to the extent to which the loss in value accruing
him from such use impairs the security of the creditor with a right to separate satisfaction.
Where the provisional insolvency administrator includes a claim transferred to secure a
claim rather than the creditor, s ections 170 and 171 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
The ordering of preservation measures shall not affect the legal validity of disposition over
financial securities pursuant to s ection 1 subs ection (17) of the Banking Act
(Kreditwesengesetz) and the legal validity of setting off claims and benefits from payment
orders, orders between payment service providers or intermediary bodies or orders for the
transfer of securities which have been incorporated into systems pursuant to s ection 1
subs ection (16) of the Banking Act. This shall also apply where a legal transaction of the
debtor is effected and set off on the day on which the order is effected or a financial security
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Page 9 of 89 is ordered and the other party provides proof that he neither knew of the order nor should
have known about it; if the other party is a system operator or participant in a system, the
day on which the order is effected shall be deemed to be that business day within the
meaning of s ection 1 subs ection (16b) of the Banking Act.
(3) If other measures prove to be insufficient, the court may sub poena the debtor and have
him detained after hearing him. If the debtor is not a natural person , the same shall apply
mutatis mutandis to his directors or general partners. S ection 98 subs ection (3) shall apply
mutatis mutandis to the ordering of detention.
Section 22
Legal Status of the Provisional Insolvency Administrator
(1) If the insolvency court designates a provisional insolvency administrator and imposes a
general prohibition on making dispositions on the debtor, the right to manage and transfer
the debtor's property shall be vested in the provisional insolvency administrator. In such
cases the provisional insolvency administrator shall:
1. see to the arrestment and preservation of the debtor's property;
2. continue an enterprise operated by the debtor unt il the insolvency court decides
on the opening of the insolvency proceedings, unless the insolvency court consents to a
close -down of such enterprise in order to avoid a considerable loss of the debtor's
property;
3. verify whether the debtor's property wi ll cover the costs of the insolvency
proceedings; in addition, the insolvency court may charge him as an expert with
verification of whether a reason to open insolvency proceedings exists, and which
prospects exist for the continuation of the debtor's ente rprise.
(2) If the insolvency court designates a provisional insolvency administrator without imposing
a general prohibition on making dispositions on the debtor, the court shall determine the
duties of such provisional insolvency administrator. Such duties may not exceed the duties
under subs ection (1), second sentence.
(3) The provisional insolvency administrator shall be entitled to enter the debtor's business
premises and to investigate there. The debtor shall grant the provisional insolvency
administrator inspection of his books and business documents. The debtor shall disclose to
him any necessary information and support him in the fulfilment of his duties; s ections 97, 98
and 101 subs ection (1), first and second sentences, and subs ection (2) shall apply mutatis
mutandis.
Section 22a
Appointment of a Provisional Creditors' Committee
(1) The insolvency court shall appoint a provisional creditors' committee in accordance with
section 21 subsection (2) no. 1a if the debtor satisfied at least two out of the three following
criteria in the previous business year :
1. A minimum balance sheet total of 4 ,840,000 euros after deduction of an amount
entered erroneously on the asset side within the meaning of section 268 subsection ( 3) of
the Commercial Code (Handels gesetzbuch) ;
2. A minimum of 9 ,680,000 euros sales revenues in the twelve months prior to the
balance sheet date;
3. At least fifty employees on an annual average .
(2) Upon the request of the debtor, of the provisional insolvency administrator or of a
creditor, the court shall appoint a provisional creditors' committee in accordance with section
21 subsection (2) no. 1a where the names are put forward of persons who may be
considered for membership of the provisional creditors' committee and the declarations of
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Page 10 of 89 consent of the persons named are enclosed with the request .
(3) A provisional creditors' committee shall not be established if the debtor's business has
been discontinued, if the appointment of a provisional creditors' committee is
disproportionate in view o f the expected insolvency estate or if the delay arising on account
of its appointment leads to a detrimental change in the debtor's financial status .
(4) Upon being requested to do so by the court, the debtor or the provisional insolvency
administr ator shall put forward the names of persons who may be considered for
membership of the provisional creditors' committee.
Section 23
Publication of Restriction on Property Transfers
(1) The decision ordering any of the restrictions on property transfers mentioned at
section 21 subs ection (2) no. 2 and designating a provisional insolvency administrator shall
be published. It shall be individually served on the debtor, on any person with an obligation
to the debtor, and on the provisional insolvency administr ator. At the same time the debtor's
obligors shall be required to meet their obligations to the debtor exclusively in compliance
with the order.
(2) If the debtor is registered in a Commercial Register, in a Register of Cooperatives, in a
Register of Partn erships or in a Register of Associations, the registry of the insolvency court
shall send a copy of such order to the register court.
(3) S ections 32 and 33 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the registration of restrictions on
property transfers in the land register, the register of ships and the register of ships under
construction, as well as in the register of liens on aircraft.
Section 24
Effects of Restrictions on Property Transfers
(1) S ections 81 and 82 shall apply mutatis mutandis to any contravention of the restrictions
on property transfers mentioned at s ection 21 subs ection (2) no. 2.
(2) If the right to transfer the debtor's property has been vested in a provisional insolvency
administrator, s ection 85 subs ection (1), first sentence, and s ection 86 shall apply mutatis
mutandis to pending actions.
Section 25
Repeal of Preservation Measures
(1) If the preservation measures are repealed, s ection 23 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the
publication of the repeal of a restriction on property transfer.
(2) If the right to transfer the debtor's property has been vested in a provisional insolvency
administrator, he shall settle any costs incurred using the property administered by him and meet any obligation entered into by him before his appointment is repeal ed. The same shall
apply to obligations under continuing obligations if the provisional insolvency administrator
has received the consideration under such contract for the property administered by him.
Section 26
Refusal for Insufficiency of Assets
(1) The insolvency court shall refuse a request to open insolvency proceedings if the debtor's
assets will probably be insufficient to cover the costs of the proceedings. Such refusal shall
be excluded if a sufficient amount of money is advanced, or the costs hav e been deferred in
accordance with s ection 4a. The order shall be published without delay.
(2) The court shall order that a debtor with respect to whom a request to open insolvency
proceedings has been refused for insufficiency of assets shall be entered i nto the record of
debtors in accordance with section 882b of the Code of Civil Procedure and shall transmit
the order electronically without delay to the central enforcement court in accordance with
section 882 h subsection (1) of the Code of Civil Procedur e. Section 882c subsection (3) of
the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply mutatis mutandis.
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Page 11 of 89 (3) Anyone advancing an amount of money under subs ection (1), second sentence, may
claim reimbursement of the advanced amount by any person who, in contravention of the
provisions of insolvency or company law, as well as in contravention of his duties and
wrongfully, has not requested the opening of insolvency proceedings. Failing agreement as to whether such person has acted in contravention of his duties and wrongf ully in refraining
from such request, the burden of proof shall shift to him.
(4) Any person who, contrary to the provisions of insolvency or company law , has in breach
of their duties and culpably
not filed a request for the opening of insolvency proceedi ngs
shall be obliged to pay the advance referred to in subsection (1), second sentence. The provisional insolvency administrator or any person who has a well-founded claim against the
debtor may demand payment of the advance .
Section 26a
Provisional Insolv ency Administrator 's Remuneration
(1) Where insolvency proceedings are not opened, the insolvency court shall make an order
determining the remuneration to be paid, and the expenses to be reimbursed, to the
provisional insolvency administrator in respect o f the debtor. The order shall be served
individually on the provisional administrator and debtor .
(2) The provisional insolvency administrator and the debtor may file an immediate appeal
against the court order. Section 567 subsection (2) of the Code of Ci vil Procedure shall apply
mutatis mutandis .
Section 27
Order Opening the Insolvency Proceedings
(1) If insolvency proceedings are opened, the insolvency court shall designate an insolvency
administrator. S ections 270 and 313 subs ection (1) shall remain unaffected.
(2) The order opening the insolvency proceedings shall specify:
1. the business name or name and first name, date of birth, register court and
registration number under which the debtor has been entered in the Commercial
Register, branch of business or occupation, commercial establishment or place of abode
of the debtor;
2. the name and address of the insolvency administrator;
3. the hour when the insolvency proceedings were opened;
4. whether the debtor has filed for discharge of residual debt ;
5. the reasons why the court did not choose to appoint the insolvency
administrator proposed unanimously by the provisional creditors' committee; the name of
the person proposed as insolvency administrator shall not be mentioned.
(3) If the order does not sp ecify the hour when the insolvency proceedings were opened, the
moment of opening shall be deemed the noon of the day when the order was issued.
Section 28
Requirements Incumbent on the Creditors and Debtors
(1) In the order opening the insolvency proceedi ngs the creditors shall be required to file
their claims in compliance with s ection 174 with the insolvency administrator within a definite
period of time. Such period of time shall be fixed to extend over not less than two weeks and
not more than three months.
(2) In the order opening the insolvency proceedings the creditors shall be required
immediately to inform the insolvency administrator which security interests they claim to
have in personal property or rights of the debtor. Details are to be provide d of the object of
the claimed security interest, the nature and causal origin of the security interest, as well as
the secured claim. Any person who by fault omits to provide this information, or provides it
late, shall be liable for the consequent damage.
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Page 12 of 89 (3) In the order opening the insolvency proceedings, those persons having obligations to the
debtor shall be required no longer to fulfil these obligations to the debtor, but to the
administrator.
Section 29
Docketing of Meetings
(1) In the order opening the insolvency proceedings the insolvency court shall docket
meetings for:
1. a creditors' assembly deciding on the continuation of the insolvency
proceedings based on the insolvency administrator's report (report meeting); such
meeting shall be docketed within six weeks and must not be docketed more than three
months later;
2. a creditors' assembly verifying the filed claims (verification meeting); the period
of time between expiry of the period to file claims and the verification meeting shall
extend over not less than one week and not more than two months.
(2) The meetings may coincide.
Section 30
Publication of the Order Opening the Insolvency Proceedings
(1) The registry of the insolvency court shall publish the order opening the insolvency
proceedings immediately. If the debtor has filed a request pursuant to s ection 287, this shall
also be published, insofar as notice pursuant to s ection 27 subs ection (2) no. 4 has not been
given.
(2) The order shall be served individually on the debtor's creditors and obligors and on the debtor himself.
Section 31
Commercial Register, Register of Cooperatives, Register of Partnerships and Register
of Associations
If the debtor is registered in a Commercial Register, in a Register of Cooperatives, in a Register of Part nerships or in a Register of Associations, the registry of the insolvency court
shall send to the register court:
1. a copy of the order opening the insolvency proceedings if insolvency
proceedings have been opened;
2. a copy of the order refusing the opening of insolvency proceedings if the
opening of insolvency proceedings has been refused for insufficiency of assets, and if the
debtor is a legal person or a company without legal personality liquidated by such
refusing order.
Section 32
Land Register
(1) The opening of insolvency proceedings shall be entered in the land register:
1. for any parcel of real estate with the debtor registered as owner;
2. for the debtor's registered rights to real estate or to registered rights if the type
of such rights and t he circumstances give rise to the suspicion that the insolvency
creditors would be placed at a disadvantage without such entry.
(2) If the insolvency court is aware of such parcels of real estate or such rights, it shall request entry by the land register ex officio. Such entry may also be requested from the Land
Registry by the insolvency administrator.
(3) If the administrator releases or sells a parcel of real estate or a right for which the
opening of the insolvency proceedings has been registered, the insolvency court shall
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Page 13 of 89 request the land register to delete such entry. Such deletion may also be requested from the
Land Registry by the administrator.
Section 33
Ship/Aircraft Register
Section 32 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the registration of the opening of insolvency
proceedings in the register of ships and the register of ships under construction, as well as in
the register of liens on aircraft. In such a case the parcels of real estate shall be replaced by
the ships, ships under construction and ai rcraft entered in such registers, and the land
register by the register court, respectively.
Section 34
Appeal
(1) If the opening of the insolvency proceedings is refused, the requesting party, and the debtor if the request was refused under s ection 26, ma y bring an immediate appeal.
(2) If the insolvency proceedings are opened, the debtor may bring an immediate appeal.
(3) As soon as a decision repealing the order opening insolvency proceedings has become effective such termination of the insolvency procee dings shall be published. S ection 200
subs ection (2), second sentence, shall apply mutatis mutandis. The legal effects of
transactions executed by the insolvency administrator or by third parties with respect to him
shall remain unaffected by such terminat ion.
Chapter Two
Insolvency Estate.
Classification of Creditors
Section 35
Definition of the Insolvency Estate
(1) The insolvency proceedings shall involve all of the assets owned by the debtor on the date when the proceedings were opened and those acquire d by him during the proceedings
(insolvency estate).
(2) If the debtor is self -employed or if he intends to become self -employed in the near future,
the insolvency administrator shall declare to him whether the assets from the non- dependent
employment are part of the insolvency estate and whether claims resulting from this
business activity may be asserted in the insolvency proceedings. S ection 295 subs ection (2)
shall apply mutatis mutandis. Upon request from the creditors' committee or, if none has been appointed, the creditors' assembly, the insolvency court shall declare such declaration
legally invalid.
(3) The insolvency administrator shall give notice to the court of such declaration. The court shall publish the declaration and the order concerning it s legal invalidity.
Section 36
Objects not Subject to Attachment
(1) Objects not subject to execution shall not form part of the insolvency estate. Sections 850, 850a, 850c, 850e, 850f subs ection (1), s ections 850g to 850k , 851c and 851d
of the Code of Civ il Procedure shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(2) However, the insolvency estate shall involve
1. the debtor's business records; any legal obligation governing storage of such
documents shall remain unaffected;
2. objects not subject to execution under s ectio n 811 subs ection (1) nos. 4 and 9
of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(3) Objects forming part of the debtor's usual household and used in his household shall not form part of the insolvency estate if their disposition would obviously yield not more than
proceeds largely disproportionate to their value.
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Page 14 of 89 (4) The insolvency court shall have jurisdiction in respect of rulings as to whether an object is
subject to coercive execution in accordance with the provisions specified in subs ection (1),
second sentence. Ins tead of a creditor, the insolvency administrator shall be entitled to make
a request. The first and second sentences shall apply mutatis mutandis in respect of the opening proceedings.
Section 37
Joint Marital Property of a Community
(1) If the joint marit al property of a community is administered by one spouse only and
insolvency proceedings are opened for the assets owned by such spouse, the insolvency estate shall involve the joint marital property. The joint marital property shall not be
distributed among the spouses. Insolvency proceedings opened for the assets owned by the
other spouse shall leave the joint marital property unaffected.
(2) If the joint marital property is administered by both spouses, insolvency proceedings
opened for the assets owned by any spouse shall leave the joint marital property unaffected.
(3) Subs ection (1) shall apply to a continued community with the proviso that the spouse
administering the joint marital property alone shall be replaced by the surviving spouse, and the late spouse by his descendants, respectively.
Section 38
Definition of the Insolvency Creditors
The insolvency estate shall serve to satisfy the well-founded claims held by the personal
creditors against the debtor on the date when the insolvency proceedings w ere opened
(insolvency creditors).
Section 39
Lower -ranking Insolvency Creditors
(1) The following claims shall be satisfied ranking below the other claims of insolvency
creditors in the order given below, and according to the proportion of their amounts i f ranking
with equal status:
1. the interest and penalties for late payment accruing on the claims of the
insolvency creditors from the opening of the insolvency proceedings;
2. the costs incurred by individual insolvency creditors due to their participati on in
the proceedings;
3. fines, regulatory fines, coercive fines and administrative fines, as well as such
incidental legal consequences of a criminal or administrative offence binding the debtor to
pay money;
4. claims to the debtor's gratuitous performance of a consideration;
5. pursuant to subs ections (4) and (5) claims for restitution of a loan replacing
equity capital or claims resulting from legal transactions corresponding in economic terms
to such a loan.
(2) Claims which the creditor and the debtor agreed to be non- privileged in insolvency
proceedings shall be satisfied after the claims mentioned at subs ection (1) if the agreement
does not provide otherwise.
(3) Interest accruing on the claims of non- privileged insolvency creditors, and the costs
incurred by such creditors due to their participation in the proceedings shall rank with equal
status as the claims of such creditors.
(4) Subs ection (1) no. 5 shall apply to companies which neither have a natural person nor a
company as general partner in which a general partner is a natural person. If, in the case of
the company's impending or existing insolvency or its overindebtedness, a creditor acquires
shares for the purpose of the company's rehabilitation, this shall, until the company has been rehab ilitated to become sustainable, not lead to the application of subs ection (1) no. 5 to his
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Page 15 of 89 claims from existing or newly granted loans or to claims from legal transactions which
correspond in economic terms to such a loan.
(5) Subs ection (1) no. 5 shall not apply to the non- managing partner of a company within the
meaning of subs ection (4), first sentence, who holds ten per cent or less of the liable equity
capital.
Section 40
Claims to Maintenance
Claims to maintenance under family law against the debtor m ay be filed in insolvency
proceedings for the period after the opening of such proceedings only to the extent to which the debtor would be held liable as the heir of the obligated person. S ection 100 shall remain
unaffected.
Section 41
Immature Claims
(1) Immature claims shall be deemed to be mature.
(2) If such claims do not bear interest, they shall be discounted at the statutory rate of
interest. Thereby they shall be reduced to the amount corresponding to the full amount of
such claim if the statutory r ate of interest for the period from the opening of the insolvency
proceedings to its maturity is added.
Section 42
Claims Subject to a Resolutory Condition
Claims subject to a resolutory condition shall be taken into account in the insolvency proceedings as claims not subject to a resolutory condition as long as such condition is not
accomplished.
Section 43
Liability Incumbent on Several Persons
A creditor holding claims against several persons for the whole of one single payment may
file the full amount i n insolvency proceedings against any debtor until he is fully satisfied if he
had a claim to such full amount on the date when the insolvency proceedings were opened.
Section 44
Rights of Obligors Liable Jointly
and Severally and of Guarantors
Obligors liable jointly and severally and guarantors may file a claim to be acquired by them in
the future against the debtor by satisfaction of the creditor only if the creditor does not file his
claim.
Section 44a
Secured Loans
In the insolvency proceedings concerni ng the assets of a company, a creditor may, in
accordance with s ection 39 subs ection (1) no. 5, only request proportionate satisfaction from
the insolvency estate for a claim for restitution of a loan or for a claim of equal rank for which a partner has pr ovided security or for which he is liable as guarantor insofar as he is no
longer able to claim the security or to be liable as guarantor.
Section 45
Conversion of Claims
Non- liquidated claims or contingent claims shall be filed at the value estimated for the date
when the insolvency proceedings were opened. Claims expressed in foreign currency or in a
mathematical unit shall be converted into German currency according to the exchange value
applicable at the time of the opening of the proceedings at the place of payment.
Section 46
Recurring Payments
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Page 16 of 89 Claims to recurring payments with a definite amount and for a definite period shall be filed
with the amount resulting from the addition of all open payments reduced by the discount
mentioned at s ection 41. If t he period of such payments is indefinite, s ection 45, first
sentence, shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 47
Right to Separation
Anyone entitled to claim the separation of an object from the insolvency estate under a right in rem or in personam shall not form part of the insolvency creditors. Entitlement to
separation of such object shall be governed by the legal provisions applying outside the
insolvency proceedings.
Section 48
Right to Separation Extending to the Consideration Received as a Substitute f or the
Object of Separation
If, prior to opening of the insolvency proceedings by the debtor or subsequent to the opening, an object for which separation might have been claimed has been sold by the
insolvency administrator without entitlement, anyone with a right to separation may claim
assignment of the right to its consideration as long as such consideration has not been paid.
He may claim such consideration from the insolvency estate to the extent to which such
consideration continues to exist in a dist inct form among the insolvency estate.
Section 49
Separate Satisfaction from Immovables
Creditors with a right to satisfaction from objects subject to execution into immovables (immovable objects) shall be entitled to separate satisfaction under the provis ions of the Act
Governing Auctions and Sequestrations of Immovables (Gesetz über die Zwangsversteigerung und die Zwangsverwaltung).
Section 50
Separate Satisfaction of Pledgees
(1) Creditors holding a contractual pledge, a pledge acquired by attachment or a legal lien in an object forming part of the insolvency estate shall be entitled to separate satisfaction in
respect of the main claim, interest and costs from the pledged object under s ections 166 to
173.
(2) The landlord's or lessor's legal lien may not be claimed in insolvency proceedings for rent
or lease payments covering an earlier period than the last twelve months foregoing the
opening of the insolvency proceedings, and for any damages to be paid due to the
termination of such lease by the insolvency administrator. Liens held by lessors of
agricultural land shall not be subject to such restriction with respect to the lease payment.
Section 51
Other Creditors with a Claim to Separate Satisfaction
The following creditors shall be deemed equal with tho se specified under s ection 50:
1. creditors to whom the debtor has assigned a movable item or a right in order to
secure a claim;
2. creditors with a right to withhold an object in consideration of their improvement
of the object as far as their claim from such improvement does not exceed the still
existing improvement;
3. creditors with a right to withhold an object under the provisions of the
Commercial Code (Handelsgesetzbuch);
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Page 17 of 89 4. the Federation, the Länder, the communes and commune associations with
regard to objects subject to custom duties and tax under legal provisions to secure the
payment of public dues.
Section 52
Elimination of Creditors with a Right to Separate Satisfaction
Creditors with a right to separate satisfaction shall be deemed insolvenc y creditors if they
also have a personal claim against the debtor. However, they shall be entitled to
proportionate satisfaction of their claim from the insolvency estate only to the extent that they
waive their right to separate satisfaction, or that such separate satisfaction has failed.
Section 53
Preferential Creditors
The insolvency estate shall be used to settle in advance the costs of the insolvency
proceedings and the other debts incumbent on the estate.
Section 54
Costs of the Insolvency Proceeding s
The following shall be deemed costs of the insolvency proceedings:
1. the court fees in respect of the insolvency proceedings;
2. the remuneration earned and the expenses incurred by the provisional
insolvency administrator, by the insolvency administrat or and by the members of the
creditors' committee.
Section 55
Other Debts Incumbent on the Estate
(1) The following debts shall be deemed as further debts incumbent on the estate:
1. debts created by activities of the insolvency administrator or in another way by
the administration, disposition and distribution of the insolvency estate without belonging
to the costs of the insolvency proceedings;
2. obligations under mutual contracts claimed to be performed to the credit of the
insolvency estate or to be settled after the opening of the insolvency proceedings;
3. obligations due to restitution for unjust enrichment of the insolvency estate.
(2) Obligations created by a provisional insolvency administrator in whom the right to transfer
the debtor's property w as vested after the opening of the insolvency proceedings shall be
deemed as debts incumbent on the estate. The same shall apply to obligations under a
continuing obligation if the provisional insolvency administrator has received the
consideration to the credit of the assets administered by him.
(3) If in accordance with subs ection (2) reasoned wage claims in accordance with
section 169 of the Third Book of the Social Code transfer to the Federal Employment
Agency, the Federal Agency may only claim these as an insolvency creditor. The first
sentence shall apply mutatis mutandis in respect of the claims specified in s ection 175
subs ection (1) of the Third Book of the Social Code to the extent that these are upheld
against the debtor.
(4) Obligations of the i nsolvency debtor resulting from the tax debtor -creditor relationship
which were created by a provisional insolvency administrator or by the debtor with the
consent of the provisional insolvency administrator shall be deemed as debts incumbent
upon the estate after the opening of the insolvency proceedings.
Chapter Three
Insolvency Administrator.
Bodies Representing the Creditors
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Page 18 of 89 Section 56
Appointment of an Insolvency Administrator
(1) From among all those persons prepared to take on insolvency administrati on work the
insolvency court shall select and appoint as insolvency administrator an independent natural
person who is suited to the case at hand, who is particularly experienced in business affairs
and independent of the creditors and of the debtor. The w illingness to take on insolvency
administration work may be restricted to certain proceedings. The requi site independence
shall not already be ruled out on account of the fact that
1. the person's name was put forward by the debtor or by a creditor ,
2. the person in question had given the debtor advice of a general nature on the
course and consequences of the insolvency proceedings prior to the request for the
opening of insolvency proceedings being filed.
(2) The insolvency administrator shall receive a letter documenting his appointment. Upon termination of his office he shall return such letter to the insolvency court.
Section 56a
Involvement of the Creditors in the Appointment of the Administrator
(1) Before the administrator is appointed, the provisiona l creditors' committee must be given
the opportunity to comment on the professional and personal requirements to be met by the
administrator , insofar as this is not obviously to the detriment of the debtor's financial status .
(2) The court may cho ose not t o appoint the administrator proposed unanimously by the
provisional creditors' committee only if the person proposed is not suited to taking on the
office. The court must base its choice of administrator on the requirements to be met by the
administrator as agreed by the provisional creditors' committee.
(3) If the court waives the hearing in accordance with subsection (1) out of concern for a
detrimental change in the debtor's financial status, the provisional creditors' committee may
in its first meeting unanimously elect a person other than the person appointed as insolvency
administrator .
Section 57
Election of a Different Insolvency Administrator
During the first meeting of creditors subsequent to the appointment of the insolvency administrator the creditors may elect a different person to replace him. The different person
shall be elected if, in addition to the majority specified in s ection 76 subs ection (2), the
majority of the voting creditors has also voted for him. The court may refuse the appointment only of a person unqualified to assume such an office. Any insolvency creditor may bring an
immediate appeal against a refusal of appointment.
Section 58
Supervision by the Insolvency Court
(1) The insolvency administrator shall be subject to supervision by the insolvency court. The
court may require him at any time to give specific information or to report on the progress of
the proceedings and on the management.
(2) If the insolvency administrator does not fulfil his duties, subsequent to a warning the court
may impose an administrative fine on him. An individual administrative fine may not exceed the sum of twenty -five thousand euros. The administrator may bring an immediate appeal
against the decision.
(3) Subs ection (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis t o the implementation of the obligation to
return assets in respect of an administrator who has been dismissed.
Section 59
Dismissal of the Insolvency Administrator
(1) The insolvency court may dismiss the insolvency administrator for an important reason.
Such dismissal may be ordered ex officio or at the request of the administrator, of the
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Page 19 of 89 creditors' committee or of the creditors' assembly. The court shall hear the administrator
before taking its decision.
(2) The administrator may bring an immediate appeal against his dismissal. The administrator himself, the creditors' committee or any creditor of the insolvency proceedings, if the creditors' assembly requested the administrator's dismissal, may bring an immediate
appeal against an order refusing the dism issal of the administrator.
Section 60
Liability of the Insolvency Administrator
(1) The insolvency administrator shall be held liable to damages for all parties to the
proceedings if he wrongfully violates the duties incumbent on him under this Statute. H e
shall ensure the careful action of a proper and diligent insolvency administrator.
(2) If for the fulfilment of the duties incumbent on him as administrator he has to employ any not obviously unqualified employees of the debtor within the scope of their former activities,
pursuant to s ection 278 of the Civil Code the administrator shall not be responsible for errors
made by these persons, but shall be responsible for supervising them, as well as for
decisions of particular importance.
Section 61
Non-perfo rmance of Debts Incumbent on the Estate
If a debt incumbent on the estate created by a legal transaction of the insolvency administrator cannot be fully satisfied from the insolvency estate, the administrator shall be
held liable to damages for the preferential creditor. This shall not apply if the administrator in
creating such debt could not be aware of the probable insufficiency of the insolvency estate
for performance.
Section 62
Period of Limitation
The right to claim damages arising from a breach of duty on the part of the insolvency
administrator shall be subject to the regulations governing the regular period of limitation
under the Civil Code. Such claim shall be subject to limitation at the latest after three years
beginning on the date of terminat ion of the insolvency proceedings or when the order
discontinuing such proceedings became final. The second sentence shall apply to any
violation of duties committed under delayed distribution (s ection 203) or monitoring of
implementation of the plan (s ection 260) with the proviso that termination of the insolvency
proceedings shall be replaced by the execution of delayed distribution or the termination of monitoring, respectively.
Section 63
Remuneration of the Insolvency Administrator
(1) The insolvency a dministrator shall be entitled to remuneration in consideration of
execution of his office and to reimbursement of his adequate expenses. The ordinary rate of such remuneration shall be calculated based on the value of the insolvency estate when the
proceedings are terminated. The scope and complexity of the administrator's execution of
his office shall be taken into account by derogating from the ordinary rate.
(2) If the costs of the proceedings have been deferred in accordance with s ection 4a, the
insolv ency administrator shall have a claim against the state cash office in respect of his
payment and his expenses insofar as the insolvency assets are insufficient therefor.
(3) The provisional insolvency administrat or shall be remunerated separately for his services .
He shall generally receive twenty -five per cent of the remuneration paid to the insolvency
administrator based on the assets to which his services referred during the opening
proceedings. When determining the value of the assets , the point in tim e at which the
provisional administration ended shall be decisive, alternatively the point in time from which
the object is no longer subject to provisional administration. Where the difference between
the actual value of the basis for calculating the remuneration and the value on which the
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Page 20 of 89 remuneration is based is more than twenty per cent, the court may amend the decision
concerning the provisional insolvency administrator’s remuneration until the decision
concerning the insolvency administrator’s remuner ation has become binding.
Section 64
Determination by the Insolvency Court
(1) The insolvency court shall determine by means of an order the insolvency administrator's
remuneration and the expenses to be reimbursed to him.
(2) Such order shall be published and individually served on the administrator, the debtor
and the members of the creditors committee, if appointed. The determined amounts shall not
be published; the public notification should point out that the complete order may be
consulted in the regi stry.
(3) The administrator, the debtor and any creditor of the insolvency proceedings may bring
an immediate appeal against the order. S ection 567 subs ection (2) of the Code of Civil
Procedure shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 65
Empowerment to Issue an Order
The Federal Ministry of Justice shall be empowered to arrange the details of remunerations
and refunding of the costs of the insolvency administrator by means of an ordinance.
Section 66
Rendering of Accounts
(1) Upon expiry of his office the inso lvency administrator shall render account to an
assembly of creditors. The insolvency plan may derogate from this rule.
(2) Prior to such assembly of creditors the insolvency court shall verify the administrator's rendering of accounts. The court shall lay out the administrator's final account with
supporting documents, with a remark indicating verification of the account and with any
comments of the creditors' committee if appointed to the parties' inspection; it may set a
deadline for the creditors' commi ttee to make a statement. The period between the laying out
of such documents and the date of the creditors' assembly shall extend for at least one week.
(3) The creditors' assembly may charge the administrator with intermediate accounts to be
rendered on certain dates during the proceedings. Subs ections (1) and (2) shall apply
mutatis mutandis.
Section 67
Establishment of the Creditors' Committee
(1) Prior to the first creditors' assembly the insolvency court may establish a creditors' committee.
(2) Such creditors' committee shall represent the creditors with a right to separate satisfaction, the insolvency creditors holding the maximum claims and the small sum creditors. The committee shall include a representative of the debtor's employees .
(3) Persons n ot holding the status of creditors may also be appointed as members of the
creditors' committee.
Section 68
Election of Different Members
(1) The creditors' assembly shall decide on the establishment of a creditors' committee. If the insolvency court has already established a creditors' committee, the creditors' assembly shall
decide whether it is to be maintained in office.
(2) It may vote the dismissal of members designated by the insolvency court or the
appointment of additional members to the creditors' committee.
Section 69
Duties Incumbent on the Creditors' Committee
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Page 21 of 89 The members of the creditors' committee shall support and monitor the insolvency
administrator's execution of his office. They shall demand information on the progress of
business affairs, have the books and business documents inspected and the monetary
transactions and the available cash verified.
Section 70
Dismissal
The insolvency court may dismiss a member of the creditors' committee for an important reason. Such dismissal may be ordered ex officio or at the request of such member of the
creditors' committee or of the creditors' assembly. The court shall hear such member of the creditors' committee prior to issuing such order; he may bring an immediate appeal against
the decision.
Sectio n 71
Liability of the Members of the Creditors' Committee
The members of the creditors' committee shall be held liable to damages for the creditors
with a right to separate satisfaction and for the insolvency creditors if they wrongfully violate
the duties incumbent on them under this Statute. S ection 62 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 72
Decisions of the Creditors' Committee
A decision of the creditors' committee shall be valid if the majority of members attended the
meeting voting on such decision and backed such decision with the majority of voting
members.
Section 73
Remuneration of the Members of the Creditors' Committee
(1) The members of the creditors' committee shall be entitled to remuneration in
consideration of execution of their offices and to reimbursement of their adequate expenses.
The time and scope of execution of their office on the part of the members shall be taken into account.
(2) S ection 63 subs ection (2), as well as s ections 64 and 65 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 74
Conv ening the Creditors' Assembly
(1) The creditors' assembly shall be convened by the insolvency court. All creditors with a right to separate satisfaction, all insolvency creditors, the insolvency administrator, the
members of the creditors' committee and the debtor shall be entitled to attend such
assembly.
(2) The time, place and agenda of the creditors' assembly shall be published. Such publication may be waived if a creditors' assembly adjourns its transactions.
Section 75
Request to Convene a Creditors' Assembly
(1) A creditors' assembly shall be convened if requested by
1. the insolvency administrator;
2. the creditors' committee;
3. at least five creditors with a right to separate satisfaction or non- lower -ranking
insolvency creditors whose rights to separate satisfaction and claims together are
assessed by the insolvency court to represent one fifth of the sum resulting from the
value of all rights to separate satisfaction and of the claims of all non- lower -ranking
insolvency creditors;
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Page 22 of 89 4. one or more c reditors with a right to separate satisfaction or non- lower -ranking
insolvency creditors whose rights to separate satisfaction and claims together are
assessed by the insolvency court to represent two fifths of the sum mentioned at no. 3.
(2) The period between receipt of such request and the date of the creditors' assembly shall
extend no longer than three weeks.
(3) If the insolvency court refuses an order convening a creditors' assembly, the requesting
party may bring an immediate appeal.
Section 76
Deci sions of the Creditors' Assembly
(1) The creditors' assembly shall be presided by the insolvency court.
(2) A decision of the creditors' assembly shall be valid if the sum of the claims held by backing creditors exceeds one half of the sum of claims held b y the creditors with voting
rights; for creditors with a right to separate satisfaction to whom the debtor is not personally
liable, the claim shall be replaced by the value of such right.
Section 77
Determination of Voting Right
(1) A voting right shall b e vested in claims filed by the creditor and not disputed by the
insolvency administrator or by a creditor with a voting right. Lower -ranking creditors shall
have no voting rights.
(2) Creditors with disputed claims shall have a voting right to the extent to which the
administrator and the attending creditors with a right to vote have agreed such vote during the creditors' assembly. If the parties cannot reach an agreement, the decision of the
insolvency court shall prevail. The insolvency court may modify its decision at the request of
the administrator or of a creditor attending the creditors' assembly.
(3) Subs ection (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis to
1. creditors holding claims subject to a condition precedent;
2. creditors with a right to separate sati sfaction.
Section 78
Repeal of a Decision taken by the Creditors' Assembly
(1) If a decision taken by the creditors' assembly is against the common interest of the
insolvency creditors, the insolvency court shall repeal such decision at the request of a
creditor with a right to separate satisfaction, of a non- lower -ranking creditor of the insolvency
proceedings or of the insolvency administrator if such request is brought during the creditors'
assembly.
(2) Such repeal of a decision shall be published. Any creditor with a right to separate
satisfaction and any non- lower -ranking creditor may bring an immediate appeal against a
repeal. The requesting party may bring an immediate appeal against an order refusing such repeal.
Section 79
Information to the Creditors' Assembly
The creditors' assembly may require the insolvency administrator to give specific information
and a report on the progress of the proceedings and on the management. If a creditors'
committee has not been appointed, the creditors' assembly may have the administrator's
monetary transactions and the available cash verified.
Part Three
Effects of the Opening of Insolvency Proceedings
Chapter One
General Effects
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Page 23 of 89 Section 80
Right to Manage and Transfer the Insolvency Estate Vested in the Insolvency
Administrator
(1) Upon the opening of the insolvency proceedings the debtor's right to manage and
transfer the insolvency estate shall be vested in the insolvency administrator.
(2) An existing prohibition of transfers imposed on the debtor and purporting to protect only
certain persons (s ection 135 and 136 of the Civil Code) shall have no binding effect on the
proceedings. The provisions governing the effects of an attachment or seizure by way of
execution shall remain unaffected.
Section 81
Dispositions by the Debtor
(1) If the debtor after the opening of the insolvency proceedings transfers an object forming
part of the insolvency estate, such transfer shall be legally invalid. S ections 892 and 893 of
the Civil Code, s ections 16 and 17 of the Act Governin g Rights in Registered Ships and
Ships under Construction (Gesetz über Rechte an eingetragenen Schiffen und Schiffsbauwerken) and s ections 16 and 17 of the Act Governing Rights in Aircraft (Gesetz
über Rechte an Luftfahrzeugen) shall remain unaffected. The consideration shall be
restituted to the other party to the transfer from the insolvency estate if such assets received enrichment by it.
(2) With respect to an assignment of future claims to emoluments due to the debtor under an employment relationship or to recurring emoluments replacing them, subs ection (1) shall
also apply to the extent to which such assignment covers any emoluments to be received by
the debtor subsequent to termination of the insolvency proceedings. The debtor's right to
assign such emoluments to a trustee for the purpose of collective satisfaction of the
insolvency creditors shall remain unaffected.
(3) If the debtor transferred an object forming part of the insolvency estate on the day on
which the insolvency proceedings were opened, such transfer shall be presumed to have
been effected after the opening of the insolvency proceedings. Any transfer by the debtor in
respect of financial securities within the meaning of s ection 1 subs ection (17) of the Banking
Act following the opening of insolvency proceedings shall, notwithstanding s ections 129 to
147, be legally valid if it occurred on the day of the opening and the other party proves that he was neither aware of nor had to be aware of the opening of the proceedings.
Section 82
Perform ance in Favour of the Debtor
If the debtor received performance to settle an obligation after the opening of the insolvency proceedings although such obligation had to be performed to the credit of the insolvency
estate, the performing party shall be discharged of his obligation if he was unaware of the
opening of the proceedings at the time of his performance. If such party performed his obligation prior to publication of the order opening the proceedings, he shall be presumed to
have been unaware of the opening of the proceedings.
Section 83
Decedent's Estate. Continued Community
(1) If the debtor prior to the opening of the insolvency proceedings succeeded or during the
insolvency proceedings succeeds to a decedent's estate or to a legacy, only the debtor shall
be entitled to accept or disclaim such estate or legacy. The same shall apply to the disclaimer of a continued community.
(2) If the debtor is a limited heir, the insolvency administrator may not transfer any object forming part of the decedent's es tate if such transfer would be invalid under s ection 2115 of
the Civil Code with respect to the revisionary heir if the revisionary heir succeeds to the decedent's estate.
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Page 24 of 89 Section 84
Liquidation of a Company or a Community
(1) If a community, another owner ship in common or a company without legal personality
exists between the debtor and third parties, any distribution or other liquidation shall be
effected outside the insolvency proceedings. The third parties may claim separate
satisfaction from the debtor 's share determined under such distribution or liquidation to settle
any claims arising from the community, ownership in common or company without legal
personality.
(2) An agreement excluding the right to liquidate a community for ever, for a limited peri od or
for a period of notice to be given shall have no binding effect upon the insolvency proceedings. The same shall apply to a clause in the decedent's will with a similar content
and binding on the community of heirs, and to a similar agreement among the members of a
community of heirs.
Section 85
Joinder of Pending Actions as Plaintiff
(1) Actions affecting the property forming part of the insolvency estate and pending for the debtor as plaintiff on the date when the insolvency proceedings are opened ma y be joined by
the insolvency administrator with their existing status. If such joinder is delayed, s ection 239
subs ections (2) to (4) of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(2) If the administrator refuses such joinder, the debtor and the defendant may continue the
action.
Section 86
Joinder of Certain Pending Actions as Defendant
(1) Actions pending against the debtor as defendant on the date when the insolvency
proceedings are opened may be joined by the insolvency administrator or continued by the
plaintiff if they cover:
1. the separation of an object from the insolvency estate;
2. separate satisfaction; or
3. a debt incumbent on the estate.
(2) If the administrator acknowledges such claim immediately, the plaintiff may claim
reimb ursement of the costs incurred for such action only as an insolvency creditor.
Section 87
Claims held by the Insolvency Creditors
The insolvency creditors shall only be permitted to enforce their claims under the provisions
governing the insolvency proceed ings.
Section 88
Execution prior to the Opening of Insolvency Proceedings
If an insolvency creditor during the last month preceding the request to open the insolvency
proceedings or after such request acquired by virtue of execution a security attaching th e
debtor's property forming part of the insolvency estate, such security shall become legally
invalid when the insolvency proceedings are opened.
Section 89
Prohibition of Execution
(1) Individual insolvency creditors may not execute into the insolvency es tate or into the
debtor's other property during the insolvency proceedings.
(2) Even creditors without the status of insolvency creditors may not execute during the proceedings into future claims to emoluments due to the debtor under an employment
relationship or into recurring emoluments replacing them. This shall not apply to execution
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Page 25 of 89 under a claim for maintenance or under a claim arising from wilful tort into the amount of
emoluments not subject to attachment by other creditors.
(3) The insolvency court shall decide on any relief to be granted against execution under
subs ections (1) or (2). Prior to its decision the court may issue a restraining order; in
particular, it may order a provisional suspension of such execution with or without providing a
secu rity and its continuation subject to a security.
Section 90
Prohibition of Execution under Debts Incumbent on the Estate
(1) Execution in respect of debts incumbent on the estate not caused by a transaction of the administrator shall be inadmissible for a period of six months from the opening of the
insolvency proceedings.
(2) The following liabilities shall not be considered as such debts incumbent on the estate:
1. obligations under a mutual contract for whose performance the administrator
opted;
2. obligations under a continuing obligation for the period after the first date when
the administrator might have terminated such contract;
3. obligations under a continuing obligation insofar as the administrator receives
its consideration for the insolvency est ate.
Section 91
Exclusion of other Acquisition of Rights
(1) After the opening of the insolvency proceedings rights in objects forming part of the
insolvency estate cannot be acquired with legal effect even if such acquisition of rights is not
based on the debtor's transfer or effected by way of execution.
(2) S ections 878, 892 and 893 of the Civil Code, s ections 3 subs ection (3), 16 and 17 of the
Act Governing Rights in Registered Ships and Ships Under Construction, s ections 5
subs ection (3), 16 and 17 of the Act Governing Rights in Aircraft and s ection 20
subs ection (3) of the Maritime Distribution Statute (Schiffahrtsrechtliche Verteilungsordnung)
shall remain unaffected.
Section 92
General Damage
Rights held by the insolvency creditors for reimbursement of damage suffered jointly by such
creditors due to a reduction of the property forming part of the insolvency estate before or
after the opening of the insolvency proceedings (general damage) may be claimed only by
the insolvency administrator during the insolvency proceedings. If such rights are sought
against the administrator, they may be claimed only by another, newly appointed insolvency
administrator.
Section 93
Personal Liability of Partners
If insolvency proceedings have been opened for the assets owned by a company without
legal personality or by a partnership limited by shares, only the insolvency administrator may
claim a partner's personal liability to the company's debts during the insolvency proceedings.
Section 94
Preservation of the Right to Set Off a Claim
If by force of law or on the basis of an agreement an insolvency creditor had a right to set off
a claim on the date when the insolvency proceedings were opened, such right shall remain
unaffected by the proceedings.
Section 95
Acquisition of the Right to Set Off a Claim During the Proceedings
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Page 26 of 89 (1) If on the date when the insolvency proceedings were opened one or more of the claims to
be set off against each other were conditioned, were immature or did not cover similar types
of performance, such set -off may not be effected before its conditions are met. S ections 41
and 45 shall not apply. Set -off shall be excluded if the claim against which a set -off is to be
effected will be unconditioned and mature before it may be set off.
(2) Set -off shall not be excluded by the claims being expressed in different currencies or
mathematical units if these currencies or mathematical units are freely exchangeable at the
place of payment of the claim against which a set -off is to be effected. They shall be
converted according to the exchange value applicable to this place at the time of receipt of
the declaration of set -off.
Section 96
Prohibition of Set- Off
(1) Set -off shall be prohibited if
1. an insolvency creditor has become an obligor to the credit of the insolvency
estate only after the opening of the insolvency proceedings;
2. an insolvency creditor acquired his claim from another creditor only after the
opening of the insolvency proceedings;
3. an insolvency creditor acquired the opportunity to set off his claim by a
transaction subject to contest;
4. a creditor with a claim to be satisfied from the debtor's free property is an
obligor to the credit of the insolvency estate.
(2) Subs ection (1), as well as s ection 95 subs ection (1), third sentence, shall not be a
hindrance to disposition over financial securities within the meaning of s ection 1
subs ection (17) of the Banking Act or the set -off of claims and benefits from payment orders,
orders between payment service providers or intermediary bodies or or ders for the transfer
of securities which were introduced into systems within the meaning of s ection 1
subs ection (16) of the Banking Act which serve to implement such agreements, insofar as
the set -off is effected at the latest on the day of opening of the insolvency proceedings; if the
other party is a system operator or participant in a system, the day of the opening of the
insolvency proceedings shall be deemed to be that business day within the meaning of
section 1 subs ection (16b) of the Banking Act.
Section 97
The Debtor's Obligation to Disclosure and Cooperation
(1) The debtor shall disclose any circumstances relating to the insolvency proceedings to the
insolvency court, the insolvency administrator, the creditors' committee and, if so ordered by
the insolvency court, to the creditors' assembly. He shall also disclose any facts able to bring
about criminal prosecution for commission of a criminal or administrative offence. However,
any fact disclosed by the debtor under his obligation in accordance w ith the first sentence
may not be used against the debtor without his consent in trial or proceedings under the
Administrative Offences Act (Gesetz über Ordnungswidrigkeiten) brought against the debtor
or a relation mentioned at s ection 52 subs ection (1) of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
(2) The debtor shall support the administrator in the latter's execution of his duties.
(3) Under an order issued by the court the debtor shall be obligated to be available at any
time to meet his obligations to disclosure and cooperation. He shall forbear any activity
contradicting the execution of such duties.
Section 98
Imposition of the Duties of the Debtor
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Page 27 of 89 (1) If necessary to provide truthful statements, the insolvency court shall order the debtor's
affidavit for the r ecords that he disclosed any demanded facts truly, correctly and completely.
Sections 478 to 480 and 483 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(2) The court may sub poena the debtor and detain him after hearing him
1. if the debtor r efuses to give information or to provide an assurance under oath
or to support the fulfilment of the duties of the insolvency administrator,
2. if the debtor attempts to evade the execution of his obligations to disclosure and
cooperation, in particular by preparing his flight, or
3. if such sub poena and detainment are necessary to avoid the debtor's activities
contradicting the execution of his obligations to disclosure and cooperation, in particular
to secure the insolvency estate.
(3) S ection 802g subsection (2) , sections 802h and 802j subsection (1) of the Code of Civil
Procedure shall apply mutatis mutandis in respect of the ordering of detention. The order imposing detention shall be rescinded ex officio as soon as the preconditions for the ordering of detention no longer exist. Immediate appeal shall be available against the ordering of
detention, as well as against refusal of an application for rescission of the order imposing detention if its conditions no longer exist.
Section 99
Interception of th e Debtor's Mail
(1) If such measure seems necessary in order to investigate or prevent the debtor's legal transactions disadvantaging the creditors, the insolvency court at the insolvency
administrator's request or ex officio shall, by order and giving gro unds, order that the
companies referred to in the order shall redirect to the administrator certain or all mail
consignments addressed to the debtor. The order shall be issued after the debtor is heard
unless this would endanger the purpose of the order due to the particular circumstances of
the case. If the debtor is not previously heard, grounds for this must be given in the order
and the hearing carried out immediately afterwards.
(2) The administrator shall be entitled to open any mail consignment redir ected to him. Mail
consignments with a content unrelated to the insolvency estate shall be forwarded to the
debtor immediately. Any other mail consignments may be inspected by the debtor.
(3) The debtor may bring an immediate appeal against the ordering of interception of his
mail. After hearing the administrator the insolvency court shall repeal such order if its
conditions have ceased to exist.
Section 100
Maintenance Payments using the Insolvency Estate
(1) The creditors' assembly shall determine whether and to what extent the debtor and his
family are to be granted maintenance using the insolvency estate.
(2) Until the creditors' assembly reaches a decision, with the agreement of the creditors' committee if appointed, the insolvency administrator may grant necessary maintenance to the debtor. In the same way it shall be possible to grant maintenance to the debtor's minor
unmarried children, spouse, former spouse, civil partner, former civil partner and the other
parent of his child regarding a claim under sections 1615l and 1615n of the Civil Code.
Section 101
Members of the Body Representing the Debtor. Employees
(1) If the debtor is not a natural person, s ections 97 to 99 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the
members of the body representing or supervising the debtor, as well as to his general
partners who are entitled to represent him. In addition, s ections 97 subs ection (1) and 98
shall apply mutatis mutandis to persons who left a position mentioned in the first sentence no earlier than two years before t he opening of the insolvency proceedings was requested; if
the debtor has no representative, this shall also apply to those persons holding a
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Page 28 of 89 participating interest in him. S ection 100 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the general partners
of the debtor who are entitled to represent him.
(2) S ection 97 subs ection (1), first sentence, shall apply mutatis mutandis to the debtor's
employees and previous employees, insofar as these did not leave earlier than two years
prior to the opening of the insolvency proceedings was requested.
(3) If the persons referred to under subs ections (1) and (2) do not meet their duties of
disclosure and cooperation, they may, if the request to open insolvency proceedings is rejected, be required to carry the costs of the proceedings .
Section 102
Restriction of a Basic Right
Section 21 subs ection (2) no. 4, as well as s ections 99 and 101 subs ection (1), first
sentence, shall authorize a limitation of the basic right of privacy (letters, telecommunications) (Article 10 of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz)).
Chapter Two
Performance of Transactions.
Cooperation of the Works Council
Section 103
Option to be Exercised by the Insolvency Administrator
(1) If a mutual contract was not or not completely performed by the debtor and its other party at the date when the insolvency proceedings were opened, the insolvency administrator may
perform such contract replacing the debtor and claim the other party's consideration.
(2) If the administrator refuses to perform such contract, the other party shall be entitled to its
claims for non- performance only as an insolvency creditor. If the other party requires the
administrator to opt for performance or non- performance, the administrator shall state his
intention to claim performance without negligent delay. I f the administrator does not give his
statement, he may no longer insist on performance.
Section 104
Fixed -date Transactions. Financial Services
(1) If the delivery of goods with a market or stock exchange price was agreed to take place
exactly on a defini tely fixed date or within a definitely fixed period, and if such date or expiry
of the period occurs after the insolvency proceedings were opened, performance may not be
claimed, but only claims for non- performance.
(2) If financial performance with a mark et or stock exchange price was agreed to take place
at a fixed date or within a fixed period, and if such date or expiry of the period occurs after
the insolvency proceedings were opened, performance may not be claimed, but only claims
for non- performance. In particular the following shall be regarded as financial performance
1. the delivery of precious metals,
2. the delivery of securities or comparable rights if it is not intended to obtain a
participation in a company in order to establish a long- term as sociation,
3. performances in specie which have to be effected in foreign currency or in a
mathematical unit,
4. performances in specie the amount of which is indirectly or directly determined
by the exchange rate of a foreign currency or mathematical unit , by the interest rate
prevailing for claims or by the price of other goods or services,
5. options and other rights to deliveries or performances in specie in the meaning
of nos. 1 to 4.
6. financial securities within the meaning of s ection 1 subs ection (17) of the
Banking Act.
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Page 29 of 89 If transactions on financial services are combined in a framework contract for which
agreement has been reached that if grounds for insolvency exist it may only be terminated
uniformly, the totality of these transactions shall be re garded as a mutual contract in the
meaning of s ections 103 and 104.
(3) Such claim for non- performance shall cover the difference between the agreed price and
the market or stock exchange price prevailing at a point in time agreed by the parties, at the
latest, however, on the fifth working day after the opening of the insolvency proceedings at
the place of performance for a contract with the agreed period of performance. If the parties
do not enter into such an agreement, the second working day after the o pening of the
insolvency proceedings shall be decisive. The other party may bring such claim only as an
insolvency creditor.
Section 105
Severable Contracts
If the contractual performances due to the parties are severable, and if the other party already ha d performed part of the services incumbent on it on the date when the insolvency
proceedings were opened, such other party shall be deemed an insolvency creditor for the
amount of its claim to consideration corresponding to the part of the services already
performed by it, even if the insolvency administrator claims performance of the services not
yet performed. The other party shall not be entitled to claim restitution for non- performance
of its claim to the consideration of the part of services transferred to the debtor's assets before the insolvency proceedings were opened.
Section 106
Priority Notice
(1) If a priority notice was entered into the land register in order to secure a claim to grant or
terminate a right in the debtor's real estate or in a right registered for the debtor, or in order
to secure a claim to modify the contents or priority of such right, the creditor may claim
satisfaction of his claim from the insolvency estate. The same shall apply if the debtor undertook additional obligations w ith respect to the creditor and such obligations have not
been met or have not been completely met.
(2) Subs ection (1) shall apply mutatis mutandis to a priority notice entered into the register of
ships, the register of ships under construction or into the register of liens on aircraft.
Section 107
Retention of Title
(1) If the debtor, before the insolvency proceedings were opened, has sold a movable article
while retaining title and transferring its possession to the purchaser, the purchaser may claim
performance of the sales contract. The same shall apply if the debtor has undertaken
additional obligations with respect to the purchase and such obligations have not been met or have not been completely met.
(2) If the debtor, before the insolvency proceedin gs were opened, has purchased a movable
article in which the seller has retained title and whose possession was transferred to the
debtor by the seller, the insolvency administrator, required by the seller to opt for
performance or non- performance, need not submit his declaration pursuant to s ection 103
subs ection (2), second sentence, until without negligent delay after the report meeting. This
shall not apply if in the period preceding the report meeting a considerable reduction is to be expected in the v alue of the movable article and the creditor has notified the administrator of
this circumstance.
Section 108
Continuity of Certain Continuous Obligations
(1) Contracts concluded by the debtor for the lease and tenancy of immovables or premises and employm ent relationships of the debtor shall continue to exist, but to the credit of the
insolvency estate. This shall also apply in respect of rental and lease contracts concluded by
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Page 30 of 89 the debtor as landlord or lessor relating to other effects assigned as a securi ty to a third party
who had financed their acquisition or production.
(2) A loan relationship entered into by the debtor as the lender shall continue with effect for
the assets insofar as the object owed is made available to the borrower.
(3) Claims arisin g before the insolvency proceedings were opened may be brought by the
other party only as an insolvency creditor.
Section 109
Debtor's Status as Tenant or Lessee
(1) A contract for the tenancy or lease of immovables or premises concluded by the debtor as tenant or lessee may be terminated by the insolvency administrator without regard to the
agreed term of the contract or an agreed exclusion of a right to the legal period of notice; the
period of notice shall be three months to the end of the month unless a nother shorter period
is applicable. If the dwelling of the debtor is the subject -matter of the lease agreement,
termination shall be replaced by the right of the insolvency administrator to declare that
claims becoming due on expiry of the period specified in the first sentence may not be asserted in the insolvency proceedings. If the administrator terminates under the first
sentence or if he submits the declaration in accordance with the second sentence, the other
party may claim damages as an insolvency creditor for premature termination of such
contract.
(2) If the debtor had not yet entered into possession of the immovables or premises when
the insolvency proceedings were opened, the administrator and the other party may
withdraw from such contract. If the administrator withdraws from the contract, the other party may claim damages as an insolvency creditor for premature termination of the contract. At
the other party's request each party shall state within two weeks whether it intends to
withdraw from t he contract; if any of the parties does not give their statement, they shall lose
the right to withdraw.
Section 110
Debtor's Status as Landlord or Lessor
(1) If the debtor as landlord or lessor of immovables or premises assigned his future claim to
tenanc y or lease fees to a third party before the insolvency proceedings were opened, the
validity of such assignment shall be limited to tenancy or lease fees to be received for the
current month of the opening of the insolvency proceedings. If the insolvency proceedings
were opened after the fifteenth day of a month, the validity of such assignment shall also be valid in respect of the following month.
(2) In particular, coll ection of the tenancy or lease fees shall be deemed an assignment for
the purpose of subs ection (1). An assignment under contract shall be deemed equivalent to
a transfer effected by way of execution.
(3) The tenant or lessee may set off any claim entitling him against the debtor against the claim to tenancy or lease fees covering the period mentioned at subs ection (1). S ections 95
and 96 nos. 2 to 4 shall remain unaffected.
Section 111
Sale of Property Let by the Debtor
If the insolvency administrator sells immovables or premises let by the debtor, and if the purchaser replaces the debtor as a party of the tenancy or lease, the purchaser may
terminate the tenancy or lease with the legal period of notice. Such notice may be given only for the first date of the legal period of notice.
Section 112
Prohibition to Terminate Tenancy or Lease Contra cts
Tenancy or lease contracts concluded by the debtor as tenant or lessee may not be terminated by the other party after the opening of the insolvency proceedings was requested:
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Page 31 of 89 1. because of default in the payment of tenancy or lease fees arising before the
opening of the insolvency proceedings was requested,
2. because of degradation of the debtor's financial situation.
Section 113
Termination of Employment
An employment relationship may be terminated by the insolvency administrator and by the
other part y irrespective of any agreed duration of such contract or agreed exclusion of the
right to routine termination. If no shorter period has been agreed, the period of notice shall
be three months to month's end. If the administrator terminates such contract, the other party may claim damages as an insolvency creditor for premature termination of the employment.
Section 114
Emoluments from Employment
(1) If the debtor prior to the opening of the insolvency proceedings assigned or pledged a future claim to emoluments due to him on account of his employment or to recurring emoluments replacing them, the validity of such assignment or pledge shall be limited to the
emoluments to be received by the debtor prior to the end of two years following the end of
the current calendar month on the date of the opening of the proceedings.
(2) Against the claim to emoluments covering the period mentioned at subs ection (1) the
obligated person may set off any claim entitling him against the debtor. S ections 95 and 96
nos. 2 to 4 shall remain unaffected.
(3) If future emoluments were transferred prior to the opening of the insolvency proceedings by way of execution, the validity of such transfer shall be limited to emoluments to be received by the debtor for the current calendar month on the date of the opening of the
proceedings. If the insolvency proceedings were opened after the fifteenth day of the month,
the validity of such transfer shall extend to the subsequent calendar month. S ection 88 shall
remain unaffected; s ection 89 subsection (2), second sentence, shall apply mutatis
mutandis.
Section 115
Expiry of Mandates
(1) Any mandate ordered by the debtor referring to the property forming part of the
insolvency estate shall expire upon the opening of the insolvency proceedings.
(2) If suspension of such mandate would cause a risk, the mandatory shall continue to perform the mandated transaction until the insolvency administrator is able to otherwise take
care of such transaction himself. For this purpose the mandate shall be deem ed to continue.
The mandatory may claim reimbursement of his expenses incurred for such continuation as
a preferential creditor.
(3) As long as the mandatory is not at fault in being unaware of the opening of insolvency
proceedings he shall benefit from the presumption that the mandate continues. The
mandatory shall rank among the insolvency creditors with his reimbursement claims arising from such continuation.
Section 116
Expiry of Management Contracts
If anyone is obligated under a service or work contract with the debtor to manage a business transaction for the latter, s ection 115 shall apply mutatis mutandis. The provisions governing
reimbursement claims arising from a continuation of such management contract shall also apply to claims to remuneration. The first sentence shall not apply to payment orders or to
orders between payment service providers or intermediary bodies and orders for the transfer
of securities; these shall continue to exist with effect for the assets.
Section 117
Expiry of Proxies
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Page 32 of 89 (1) A proxy granted by the debtor with respect to the property forming part of the insolvency
estate shall expire upon the opening of the insolvency proceedings.
(2) As far as a mandate or a management contract is deemed to continue under s ection 115
subs ection (2), the related authority shall also be deemed to continue.
(3) As long as the authorized person is not at fault in being unaware of the opening of
insolvency proceedings he shall not be held liable under s ection 179 of the Civil Code.
Section 118
Liquidation of Companies
If a company without legal personality or a partnership limited by shares is liquidated by the
opening of insolvency proceedings for the property owned by one partner, the managing
partner shall rank among the preferential creditors w ith his claims arising from the provisional
continuation of urgent business transactions. As long as the managing partner is not at fault
in being unaware of the opening of insolvency proceedings he shall rank among the
insolvency creditors with his claims arising from the continuation of business transactions;
section 84 subs ection (1) shall remain unaffected.
Section 119
Invalidity of Agreements Derogating from the Foregoing Provisions
Agreements excluding or limiting the application of s ections 103 to 11 8 in advance shall be
invalid.
Section 120
Termination of Plant Agreements
(1) If a plant agreement provides for benefits incumbent on the insolvency estate, the
insolvency administrator shall consult the works council about agreement on a reduction of
such benefits. Such plant agreement may be terminated by giving three months' notice even
if a longer period of notice has been agreed.
(2) The right to terminate a plant agreement for an important reason without a period of
notice shall remain unaffected.
Section 121
Modifications to the Enterprise and Conciliatory Proceedings
In insolvency proceedings opened for the property owned by the entrepreneur, s ection 112
subs ection (2), first sentence, of the Industrial Constitution Act (Betriebsverfassungsgesetz)
shall apply with the proviso that the conciliatory proceedings shall only be preceded by an
attempt to settle the matter if both the insolvency administrator and the works council request such an attempt.
Section 122
Judicial Approval of a Modification of the Enterprise
(1) If modification of the enterprise is envisaged, and if the insolvency administrator and the
works council cannot reach an agreement pursuant to s ection 112 of the Industrial
Constitution Act on reconciliation of interests within three weeks from the beginning of negotiations or written request to begin negotiations although the administrator has provided
comprehensive information in good time to the works council, the administrator may request
a decision on the part of the labour court approving such modification of the enterprise
without prior proceedings under s ection 112 subs ection (2) of the Industrial Constitution Act.
Section 113 subs ection (3) of the Industrial Constitution Act shall not be applied in this
respect. The administrator' s right to bring about a reconciliation of interests pursuant to
section 125 or to file a request for a court decision pursuant to s ection 126 shall remain
unaffected.
(2) The court shall approve such modification of the enterprise if the economic condition of
the enterprise, also taking into account the social concerns of the employees, warrants the
execution of such modification of the enterprise, without previous proceedings in accordance
with s ection 112 subs ection (2) of the Industrial Constitution Act . The provisions contained in
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Page 33 of 89 the Labour Court Act (Arbeitsgerichtsgesetz) on decisions by order shall apply mutatis
mutandis; the insolvency administrator and the works council shall be the parties involved in
the proceedings. Pursuant to s ection 61a subs ections (3) to (6) of the Labour Court Act, the
application is to be dealt with as a matter of priority.
(3) No complaint to the regional labour court may be brought against the court order. A complaint may be made to the Federal Labour Court if this is permitted in the order of the
labour court; s ection 72 subs ections (2) and (3) of the Labour Court Act shall apply mutatis
mutandis. The appeal is to be filed with the Federal Labour Court with grounds within a
month of receipt of the decision of the labour court in its final form.
Section 123
Scope of the Social Plan
(1) A social plan established subsequent to the opening of insolvency proceedings may
provide for a total amount of up to two and a half month's wages (s ection 10 subs ection (3)
of the Dismissal s Prot ection Act (Kündigungsschutzgesetz)) of the dismissed employees to
recompense for or to attenuate their economic disadvantages under the envisaged modification of the enterprise.
(2) The obligations under such social plan are obligations incumbent on the insolvency
estate. However, if no insolvency plan comes into being, no more than one third of the insolvency estate available for distribution among the insolvency creditors without such
social plan may be used for the settlement of social plan claims . If the total amount of all
social plan claims exceeds such limit, each claim shall be reduced on a proportionate basis.
(3) Whenever adequate cash funds are available in the insolvency estate the insolvency administrator shall make advance payments on social plan claims with the consent of the
insolvency court. No execution into the insolvency estate for social plan claims shall be
permitted.
Section 124
Social Plan Established Prior to the Opening of Insolvency Proceedings
(1) A social plan established prior to the opening of insolvency proceedings, but not earlier than three months before the opening of insolvency proceedings was requested, may be
revoked by both the insolvency administrator and the works council.
(2) If such social plan is revoked, the employees entitled to claims under the social plan may
be taken into account when a social plan is established during the insolvency proceedings.
(3) Benefits received by an employee on his claim under a revoked social plan before the opening of insolvency proceedings may not be claimed to be restituted due to the revocation.
Upon the establishment of a new social plan such benefits received by a dismissed
employee shall be set off against the calculation of the total amount of social plan claims
under s ection 123 subs ection (1) up to two and a half months' wages.
Section 125
Reconciliation of Interests and Dismissals Protection
(1) If modification of the enterprise is envisaged (s ection 111 of the Industrial Constitution
Act) and if the insolvency administr ator and the works council reach an agreement on
reconciliation of interests in which the employees who are to receive notice are listed by name, s ection 1 of the Dismissals Prot ection Act shall be applied, subject to the following
provisos:
1. it shall be presumed that termination of the employment of the employees who
are listed by name depends on urgent operational requirements which stand in the way of
further employment on this site or of further employment under unchanged working
conditions;
2. the social sel ection of the employees shall only be examined on the basis of
duration of service, age and maintenance obligations, and in this respect only for gross
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Page 34 of 89 errors; it shall not be regarded as grossly in error if a balanced personnel structure is
maintained or created.
The first sentence shall not apply if the circumstances have changed considerably since the
reconciliation of interests was brought into being.
(2) Reconciliation of interests pursuant to subs ection (1) shall replace the statement of the
works council pursuant to s ection 17 subs ection (3), second sentence, of the Dismissals
Protection Act.
Section 126
Judicial Orders Deciding on Dismissal Protection
(1) If the plant did not elect a works council or if for other reasons reconciliation of int erests
pursuant to s ection 125 subs ection (1) is not achieved within three weeks of opening of the
negotiations or a written request to open negotiations, in spite of the fact that the administrator provided comprehensive information in good time to the works council, the
insolvency administrator may request a decision on the part of the labour court to the effect
that termination of contracts covering certain employees designated in his request is conditioned by urgent operational requirements and justified under social aspects. The social selection of the employees shall only be examined on the basis of duration of service, age
and maintenance obligations.
(2) The provisions of the Labour Court Act governing decisions by order shall apply mutatis mutandis; the insolvency administrator, the works council and those designated employees
not recognizing the termination of their contracts or the change in their working conditions as justified shall be parties to the proceedings. S ection 122 subs ection (2), third sentence, and
subs ection (3) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(3) S ection 12a subs ection (1), first and second sentences, of the Labour Court Act shall
apply mutatis mutandis to the costs incurred by the parties concerned during the first instance. During pr oceedings before the Federal Labour Court the provisions contained in
the Code of Civil Procedure governing the reimbursement of costs shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 127
Action brought by an Employee
(1) If the insolvency administrator gives notice to an employee listed in the application pursuant to s ection 126 subs ection (1), and if the employee files an action to determine that
employment has not been terminated by dismissal, or that the change in the working conditions is socially unjustified, th e legally binding decision in proceedings pursuant to
section 126 shall be binding on the parties. This shall not apply if the circumstances have
changed considerably since the last oral hearing.
(2) If the employee has already filed an action prior to the decision taken in proceedings
pursuant to s ection 126 becoming legally binding, at the request of the administrator the
proceedings on the action shall be suspended until this time.
Section 128
Sale of Enterprise
(1) Application of s ections 125 to 127 sha ll not be excluded by the modification of the
enterprise on which the reconciliation of interests or application for determination is based
not being carried out until subsequent to sale of plant. The plant buyer shall be a party to the
proceedings pursuan t to s ection 126.
(2) In the case of a transfer of an enterprise, the presumption in accordance with s ection 125
subs ection (1), first sentence, no. 1 or the court decision pursuant to s ection 126
subs ection (1), first sentence, shall also imply that termi nation of employment does not occur
because of the transfer of an enterprise.
Chapter Three
Contest of Debtor's Transactions in Insolvency Proceedings
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Page 35 of 89 Section 129
Policy
(1) Transactions made prior to the opening of insolvency proceedings and disadvantagin g
the insolvency creditors may be contested by the insolvency administrator under
sections 130 to 146.
(2) An omission shall be deemed equivalent to an active transaction.
Section 130
Congruent Coverage
(1) A transaction granting or facilitating an insolvency creditor a security or satisfaction may be contested
1. if it was made during the last three months prior to the request to open
insolvency proceedings, if the debtor was illiquid on the date of the transaction, and if the
creditor was aware of his ins olvency on this date, or
2. if it was made after the request to open insolvency proceedings, and if the
creditor was aware of the debtor's insolvency on the date of the transaction, or of the
request to open insolvency proceedings.
This shall not apply ins ofar as the transaction is based on a security agreement containing
the obligation to create a financial security, another or an additional financial security within
the meaning of s ection 1 subs ection (17) of the Banking Act in order to reinstate the
relationship between the value of the secured obligation and the value of the performed
securities set out in the security agreement (margin security).
(2) Awareness of circumstances pointing directly to insolvency or to a request to open
insolvency proceedings shall be considered equivalent to awareness of insolvency or of the
request to open insolvency proceedings.
(3) A person with a close relationship to the debtor existing on the date of such transaction
(section 138) shall be presumed to have been aware of the debtor's insolvency or of the
request to open insolvency proceedings.
Section 131
Incongruent Coverage
(1) A transaction granting or facilitating an insolvency creditor a security or satisfaction without his entitlement to such security or satisfacti on, or to the kind or date of such security
or satisfaction, may be contested if such transaction was made
1. during the last month prior to the request to open insolvency proceedings or
after such request;
2. within the second or third month prior to the request to open insolvency
proceedings, and the debtor was illiquid on the date of the transaction;
3. within the second or third month prior to the request to open insolvency
proceedings, and the creditor was aware of the disadvantage to the insolvency cr editors
arising from such transaction on its date.
(2) For application of subs ection (1) no. 3, awareness of circumstances pointing directly to
the disadvantage shall be considered equivalent to awareness of the disadvantage to the insolvency creditors. A person with a close relationship to the debtor on the date of such
transaction (s ection 138) shall be presumed to have been aware of the disadvantage to the
insolvency creditors.
Section 132
Transactions Immediately Disadvantaging the Insolvency Creditors
(1) Legal transactions on the part of the debtor constituting a direct disadvantage to
insolvency creditors may be contested if they were made
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Page 36 of 89 1. during the last three months prior to the request to open insolvency
proceedings, if the debtor was illiquid o n the date of such transaction, and if the other
party was aware of such insolvency on this date, or
2. subsequent to the request to open insolvency proceedings, and if at the time
when the legal transaction was made the other party was aware of such insolvency or of
the request to open insolvency proceedings.
(2) Legal transactions constituting a direct disadvantage to insolvency creditors shall be
deemed equivalent to any other transaction of the debtor divesting the debtor of a right or
barring the debtor's claim to such right for the future or maintaining a property claim against the debtor or rendering such claim enforceable against the debtor.
(3) S ection 130 subs ections (2) and (3) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 133
Wilful Disadvantage
(1) A transaction made by the debtor during the last ten years prior to the request to open insolvency proceedings, or subsequent to such request, with the intention to disadvantage
his creditors may be contested if the other party was aware of the debtor's intent ion on the
date of such transaction. Such awareness shall be presumed if the other party knew of the
debtor's imminent insolvency , and that the transaction constituted a disadvantage for the
creditors.
(2) An onerous contract entered into by the debtor wit h a person with a close relationship to
him (s ection 138) directly constituting a disadvantage for the insolvency creditors may be
contested. Such contest shall be excluded if the contract was entered into earlier than two
years prior to the request to ope n insolvency proceedings, or if the other party was not aware
of the debtor's intention to disadvantage the creditors on the date of such contract.
Section 134
Gratuitous Benefit
(1) A gratuitous benefit granted by the debtor may be contested unless it was made earlier
than four years prior to the request to open insolvency proceedings.
(2) If such benefit comprises a usual casual gift of minor value, the gift may not be contested.
Section 135
Loans Replacing Equity Capital
(1) A transaction may be contested which, in consideration of a partner's claim to restitution of his loan replacing equity capital within the meaning of s ection 39 subs ection (1) no. 5 or in
consideration of an equivalent claim,
1. provided a security if such transaction was made during the last ten years prior
to the request to open insolvency proceedings or subsequent to such request; or
2. provided satisfaction if such transaction was made during the last year prior to
the request to open insolvency proceedings or subsequent to such re quest.
(2) A transaction may be contested by means of which a company has provided satisfaction to a third party for a claim to restitution of a loan within the period quoted in subs ection (1)
no. 2 if a partner has provided security for the claim or was l iable as guarantor; this shall
apply correspondingly to benefits which correspond in economic terms to a loan.
(3) If a partner entrusted the debtor with an object for use or exercise, the right to separate
satisfaction may not be claimed for the duration of the insolvency proceedings, at most,
however, for a period of one year from the date on which the insolvency proceedings are opened if the object is of considerable significance for the continued existence of the
debtor's enterprise. The partner shall be recompensed for the use or exercise of the object;
when calculating such compensation, the average paid in the last year prior to the opening of the proceedings shall be applied, if the period of surrender is shorter, the average during that
period.
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Page 37 of 89 (4) Section 39 subs ection (4) and (5) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 136
Silent Partnership
(1) A transaction may be contested by means of which a part or all of a silent partner's
interest was restituted to him or by means of which a part or all of a s ilent partner's share in
accrued losses was waived if the basic agreement was made during the last year prior to the
request to open insolvency proceedings for the property owned by the manager of the
business or subsequent to such request. This shall also apply if such agreement resulted in
the liquidation of the silent partnership.
(2) Contention shall be excluded if a reason to open insolvency proceedings became existent only subsequent to the agreement.
Section 137
Payments on Bills of Exchange and Cheq ues
(1) The debtor's payment on bills of exchange may not be claimed to be restituted by the
recipient under s ection 130 if the law governing bills of exchange would have barred the
recipient's claims arising from the bill against other indorsers, the draw er or drawee if he had
refused the debtor's payment.
(2) However, the amount paid on a bill shall be restituted by the last indorser or, if he indorsed the bill on account of a third party, by such party if the last indorser or the third party
was aware or , due to gross negligence, unaware of the debtor's insolvency or of the request
to open insolvency proceedings on indorsing the bill or having it indorsed. S ection 130
subs ections (2) and (3) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(3) Subs ections (1) and (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis to payments on cheques on the part
of the debtor.
Section 138
Persons with a Close Relationship to the Debtor
(1) If the debtor is a natural person, persons with a close relationship to the debtor shall be:
1. the debtor's spouse, ev en if the marriage was contracted only after the
transaction or was dissolved during the last year prior to the transaction;
1a the debtor's civil partner, even if the civil partnership was contracted only after
the transaction or was dissolved during the last year prior to the transaction;
2. the ascendants or descendants of the debtor or of the spouse designated at no.
1, or the civil partner designated at no. 1a, the debtor's full and half -blood siblings, or the
spouse designated at no. 1, or the civil partner designated at no. 1a, and the spouses of
such persons;
3. persons living in the debtor's household or having lived in the debtor's
household during the last year prior to the transaction, as well as persons who can
provide information on the debtor' s financial circumstances on the grounds of a
relationship based on a contract of employment or service with the debtor.
4. a legal person or a company without legal personality if the debtor or one of the
persons referred to at nos. 1 to 3 is a member of the body representing or supervising the
debtor, a general partner or persons holding more than one quarter of the debtor's
capital, or is able, on the basis of a comparable relationship under company law or a
contract of employment or service, of providing information regarding the debtor's
financial circumstances.
(2) If the debtor is a legal person or a company without legal personality, the persons with a
close relationship to the debtor shall be:
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Page 38 of 89 1. the members of the body representing or supervising t he debtor, as well as his
general partners and persons holding more than one quarter of the debtor's capital;
2. a person or a company having on the basis of a comparable association with
the debtor under company law or under a service contract the opportunity to become
aware of the debtor's financial circumstances;
3. a person having a personal relationship detailed at subs ection (1) with a person
named at no. 1 or 2; this shall not apply if the persons named at no. 1 or 2 are legally
bound to secrecy regarding the debtor's affairs.
Section 139
Calculation of Time Periods Prior to the Request to Open Insolvency Proceedings
(1) The periods of time given in s ections 88 and 130 to 136 shall commence on the
beginning of the day corresponding by its number to th e day when the request to open
insolvency proceedings was received by the insolvency court. During a month lacking such
day the time period shall commence on the beginning of the following day.
(2) If several requests to open insolvency proceedings have been received, the first admissible request containing grounds for opening insolvency proceedings shall be relevant
even if the proceedings were opened due to a subsequent request. A request refused with
final effect shall be taken into account only if such request was refused for insufficiency of
assets.
Section 140
Date of Performance of Transaction
(1) A transaction shall be deemed performed on the date when its legal effects become
existent.
(2) If legal effectiveness of a transaction requires registratio n in the land register, in the ship
or shipbuilding register or in the register of liens on aircraft, such transaction shall be deemed performed as soon as the other conditions of its legal effectiveness are met, the debtor's declaration of intent has become binding upon him, and the other party has
requested registration of such transaction. If the registration of a priority notice was
requested in order to secure the claim on the transaction, the first sentence shall apply with
the proviso that such reque st for priority notice shall replace the request to register the
transaction.
Section 141
Executable Deed
Contestation shall not be excluded if an executable deed was acquired for the transaction, or if the transaction was performed by way of execution.
Section 142
Cash Transactions
Payments on the part of the debtor in return for which his property benefited directly from an
equitable consideration may only be contested under the conditions of s ection 133
subs ection (1).
Section 143
Legal Consequences
(1) Any property of the debtor sold, transferred or relinquished under the transaction subject
to contest must be restituted to the insolvency estate. The provisions governing the legal
consequences of unjust enrichment with the recipient being aware of a lack ing legal
justification shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(2) The recipient of a gratuitous benefit shall restitute such benefit only to the extent of his enrichment. This shall not apply as soon as he is aware or must be aware under the
circumstances that the gratuitous benefit places the creditors at a disadvantage.
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Page 39 of 89 (3) In the case of a contestation pursuant to s ection 135 subs ection (2), the partner who
provided the security or was liable as guarantor shall return the benefit granted the third
party to the i nsolvency estate. The obligation shall only exist up to that amount to which the
partner was liable as guarantor or which corresponds to the value of the security he provided
at the point of the restitution of the loan or the performance on the claim of the same rank.
The partner shall be free of the obligation if he makes the object which served the creditor as
security available to the insolvency estate.
Section 144
Claims of the Party to the Contested Transaction
(1) If the recipient of a benefit under a transaction subject to contest restitutes the property
received, his claim shall revive.
(2) Considerations shall be refunded from the insolvency estate to the extent to which such
consideration continues to exist in a distinct form among the insolvency estate, or to which
such assets were augmented by its value. Further claims of the recipient of a benefit under a
transaction which is subject to contest in respect of restitution of his consideration may be brought by such recipient only as an insolvency c reditor.
Section 145
Transactions Contested and Enforced against Legal Successors
(1) A transaction may be contested against the heir or other comprehensive legal successor of the other party to such transaction.
(2) A transaction may be contested against another legal successor if such legal successor
1. was aware of the circumstances giving rise to the enrichment of his
predecessor being subject to contention on the date of his enrichment;
2. belonged to the persons with a close relationship to the debtor (section 138) on
the date of his enrichment unless he was unaware of the circumstances giving rise to the
enrichment of his predecessor being subject to contest on such date;
3. received the enrichment by way of a gratuitous transfer.
Section 146
Limitati on of the Right to Contest
(1) The right to contest a transaction shall be subject to the regulations governing regular limitation under the Civil Code.
(2) Even if the right to contest has become subject to limitation, the insolvency administrator may ref use performance of an obligation in consideration of a benefit under a transaction
subject to contest.
Section 147
Transactions Carried out Subsequent to the Opening of Insolvency Proceedings
Transactions carried out after the opening of the insolvency proceedings and having legal effect pursuant to s ection 81 subs ection (3), second sentence, s ections 892 and 893 of the
Civil Code, s ections 16 and 17 of the Act Governing Rights in Registered Ships and Ships
Under Construction and s ections 16 and 17 of the A ct Governing Rights in Aircraft may be
contested in accordance with the provisions governing the contest of transactions carried out before the insolvency proceedings were opened. The first sentence shall apply to
transactions underlying the claims and per formances referred to in s ection 96 subs ection (2),
with the proviso that the set -off, including the settlement of balance, shall not be cancelled
on account of the contestation or the affected payment orders, orders between payment
service providers or intermediary bodies or orders for the transfer of securities becoming
legally invalid.
Part Four
Management and Disposition of the Insolvency Estate
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Page 40 of 89 Chapter One
Preservation of the Insolvency Estate
Section 148
Transfer of the Insolvency Estate
(1) Subsequent to the opening of the insolvency proceedings the insolvency administrator
shall immediately assume possession and management of the whole property forming part
of the insolvency estate.
(2) Using an executable certified copy of the order opening the insolvency proceedings the
administrator shall be entitled to enforce by way of execution the dereliction of the objects held in the debtor's custody. S ection 766 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply with the
proviso that the enforcement court shall be r eplaced by the insolvency court.
Section 149
Objects of Value
(1) The creditors' committee may determine the agency and conditions of deposit or investment of currency, securities and objects of value. If a creditors' committee has not
been appointed or has not yet taken a decision to this effect, the insolvency court may give
such orders.
(2) The creditors' assembly may decide otherwise.
Section 150
Sealing
In order to secure property forming part of the insolvency estate the insolvency administrator may h ave seals applied by the sheriff or any other legally authorized person. The document
evidencing such sealing or the removal of seals shall be deposited by the administrator with
the registry of the court for the parties' inspection.
Section 151
Record of the Insolvency Estate
(1) The insolvency administrator shall establish a record of each object forming part of the
insolvency estate. The debtor shall attend the establishment of such record if his attendance
does not delay the proceedings to their detriment.
(2) The value of each object shall be indicated. If the value depends on whether the debtor's
enterprise is continued or closed down, both amounts shall be indicated. An expert may be
charged with the assessment of objects whose value may be assessed only with particular
difficulty.
(3) At the administrator's request the insolvency court may waive the establishment of the
record; grounds are to be given for the request. If a creditors' committee was appointed, the
administrator may submit such request only with the consent of the creditors' committee.
Section 152
Record of Creditors
(1) The insolvency administrator shall establish a record of all the debtor's creditors of whom he is aware by insp ection of the debtor's records and business documents, by a ny other
indication of the debtor, by filing their claims or in any other way.
(2) The record shall itemize the creditors with a claim to separate satisfaction and each category of lower -ranking insolvency creditors. The address of each creditor as well as the
reason and the amount of claim shall be indicated. For creditors with a claim to separate
satisfaction also the object subject to the claim of separate satisfaction and the amount of
their probable non- satisfaction shall be indicated; s ection 151 subs ection (2), second
sentence, shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(3) In addition, the record shall indicate any situation enabling the set -off of claims against
each other. The amount of the obligations incumbent on the insolvency estate shall be estimated if the debtor's property is disposed of in an expeditious way.
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Page 41 of 89 Section 153
Survey of Property
(1) As of the date when the insolvency proceedings were opened the insolvency
administrator shall establish an ordered survey indicating the objects forming part of the insolvency estate and the debtor's obligations and balancing them. S ection 151
subs ection (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the assessment of the value of objects;
section 152 subs ection (2), first sentence, shall apply mutatis mutandis to the itemizat ion of
the debtor's obligations.
(2) After the establishment of the survey of property the insolvency court, at the administrator's or a creditor's request, may order the debtor's affidavit regarding the completeness of the survey of property. S ections 98 and 101 subs ection (1), first and second
sentences, shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 154
Deposit with the Registry of the Insolvency Court
The record of the insolvency estate, the record of creditors and the survey of property shall be deposited with the registry of the insolvency court for the parties' inspection at the latest
one week prior to the report meeting.
Section 155
Accounting under Commercial and Fiscal Laws
(1) The debtor's obligations under commercial and fiscal law to keep and render acc ounts
shall remain unaffected. With respect to the insolvency estate such obligations shall be
incumbent on the insolvency administrator.
(2) A new financial year shall begin when the insolvency proceedings are opened. However,
the period which has elapsed prior to the report meeting shall not be taken into account in
legal periods provided for the establishment or publication of financial statements.
(3) S ection 318 of the Commercial Code shall apply to the appointment of the balance sheet
auditor in the i nsolvency proceedings with the proviso that such auditor shall be appointed
exclusively by the register court at the administrator's request. If an auditor was appointed
for the financial year prior to the opening of the insolvency proceedings, the validit y of such
appointment shall remain unaffected by the opening of the insolvency proceedings.
Chapter Two
Decision on Disposition
Section 156
Report Meeting
(1) At the report meeting the insolvency administrator shall report on the economic situation of the debtor and its causes. He shall assess any prospects of maintaining the debtor's
enterprise as a whole or in part, indicate any possibility of drawing up an insolvency plan and
describe the effects of each solution on the satisfaction of the creditors.
(2) The debtor, the creditors' committee, the works council and the spokesmen of officers
shall be given the opportunity at the report meeting to make their statements on the
administrator's report. If the debtor is a trader, craftsman or farmer, the competent official
professional representative body of industry, trade, the craft or of agriculture may also be
given the opportunity to express their views at the report meeting.
Section 157
Decision on the Further Proceedings
At the report meeting the creditors' assembly shall decide whether the debtor's enterprise
should be closed down or temporarily continued. The assembly may commission the administrator to draw up an insolvency plan and determine the plan's objective for him. The
assembly may modify its decis ions at subsequent meetings.
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Page 42 of 89 Section 158
Measures taken prior to the Decision
(1) If the insolvency administrator intends to close or sell the debtor's enterprise prior to the
report meeting, he shall obtain the consent of the creditors' committee if appoi nted.
(2) Before the creditors' committee takes its decision or, if no such committee has been
appointed, before closing down or selling the enterprise the administrator shall inform the
debtor thereof. At the request of the debtor and after hearing the administrator the insolvency
court shall refuse such close- down or sale of the enterprise if the close- down or sale can be
suspended until the report meeting without considerably reducing the insolvency estate.
Section 159
Disposition of the Insolvency Estate
After the report meeting the administrator shall immediately liquidate the property forming the insolvency estate, unless such disposition contradicts any decisions taken by the creditors'
assembly.
Section 160
Transactions of Particular Importance
(1) T he insolvency administrator shall obtain the consent of the creditors' committee if he
intends to engage in transactions which are of particular importance to the insolvency
proceedings. If no creditors' committee has been appointed, he shall obtain the co nsent of
the creditors' assembly. If a creditors' assembly which has been convened is without a quorum, consent shall be deemed to have been given; the creditors shall be informed of these consequences in the invitation to the creditors' assembly.
(2) Cons ent under subs ection (1) shall be required in particular
1. if such transaction purports to sell the enterprise, plant, the entire stock, a part
of real property to be disposed of by private sale, the debtor's shares in another
enterprise if such shares ar e intended to bring about a permanent affiliation to such other
enterprise or the entitlement to receive recurring earnings;
2. if such transaction purports to enter into a loan contract with considerable
burdens on the insolvency estate;
3. if such transaction purports to bring or join a court action amounting to a
considerable value in dispute, to refuse the bringing of such action, or to negotiate a
settlement or compromise to settle or avoid any such action.
Section 161
Provisional Prohibition of the Tr ansaction
In any of the cases covered by s ection 160 the insolvency administrator shall inform the
debtor before the creditors' committee or assembly take a decision if such information is
possible without delaying the insolvency proceedings to their detri ment. If the creditors'
assembly has not given its consent, at the request of the debtor or of a majority of creditors
qualifying under s ection 75 subs ection (1) no. 3 and after hearing the administrator the
insolvency court may provisionally prohibit the transaction and convene a creditors'
assembly for a decision to be taken on the transaction.
Section 162
Sale of Enterprise to Persons with Specific Interests
(1) The sale of the enterprise or plant shall require the approval of the creditors' assembly if
the purchaser or a person holding at least one fifth of the purchaser's capital
1. belongs to the persons with a close relationship to the debtor (s ection 138);
2. is a creditor with a right to separate satisfaction or an insolvency creditor with
non-lower -ranking claims whose rights to separate satisfaction and claims are assessed
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Page 43 of 89 by the insolvency court to reach a total of one fifth of the sum of the value of all rights to
separate satisfaction and of the amounts of the claims of all insolvency creditors with
non-lower -ranking claims.
(2) A person shall also be deemed to hold shares of the purchaser for the purpose of
subs ection (1) if an enterprise controlled by the person or a third party holds shares of the
purchaser on behalf of the person or of the controlled enterprise.
Section 163
Sale of Enterprise below Value
(1) At the request of the debtor or of a majority of creditors qualifying under s ection 75
subs ection (1) no. 3 and after hearing the insolvency administrator the insolvency court may
order th at the envisaged sale of the enterprise or plant shall require the approval of the
creditors' assembly if the requesting party proves to the satisfaction of the court that a sale to another purchaser would be more beneficial to the insolvency estate.
(2) If the requesting party has incurred costs for such request, he shall be entitled to
reimbursement of such costs by the insolvency estate as soon as the court issues its order.
Section 164
Legal Validity of the Transaction
A contravention of s ections 160 to 163 shall leave the validity of the acts of the insolvency
administrator unaffected.
Chapter Three
Objects Subject to a Right to Separate Satisfaction
Section 165
Disposition of Immovables
The insolvency administrator may initiate with the competent court auctions or
sequestrations of immovables forming part of the insolvency estate even if such immovables
are subject to a right to separate satisfaction.
Section 166
Disposition of Movables
(1) The insolvency administrator may dispose of a movable item to w hich he has a right to
separate satisfaction without restriction if it is in his possession.
(2) The insolvency administrator may collect or in another way dispose of a claim assigned by the debtor in order to secure a claim.
(3) Subs ections (1) and (2) shall not apply
1. to items to which a security in favour of the operator or the participant in a
system pursuant to s ection 1 subs ection (16) of the Banking Act exists to secure his
claims under the system,
2. to items to which a security in favour of the c entral bank of a Member State of
the European Union or a Contracting Party of the Agreement on the European Economic
Area or in favour of the European Central Bank exists,
3. to a financial security within the meaning of s ection 1 subs ection (17) of the
Banking Act.
Section 167
Notification of the Creditor
(1) If the insolvency administrator is entitled to dispose of a movable item under s ection 166
subs ection (1), he shall notify the condition of the movable item to the creditor with a right to
separate sa tisfaction at the latter's request. Instead of such notification the administrator may
allow the creditor to inspect the object.
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Page 44 of 89 (2) If the administrator is entitled to collect a claim under s ection 166 subs ection (2), he shall
notify the claim to the creditor with a right to separate satisfaction at the latter's request.
Instead of such notification he may allow the creditor to inspect the debtor's books and
business documents.
Section 168
Notification of Envisaged Sale
(1) Before the insolvency administrator sells to a third party an object with regard to which he
is entitled to disposition under s ection 166 he shall notify how such envisaged sale is to be
carried out to the creditor with a right to separate satisfaction. He shall give the creditor the
opportunity of pointing out within a week another means of selling the object which would be
more beneficial to the creditor.
(2) If such notification is given within a week or in good time before the sale, the
administrator shall take advantage of such oppor tunity or recompense the creditor as if he
had taken advantage of it.
(3) Such other opportunity of disposition may also consist in the object's devolution to the creditor himself. An opportunity to sell shall also be deemed more beneficial if savings are made on expenses.
Section 169
Protection of the Creditor Against Delayed Disposition
So long as an object with regard to which the insolvency administrator is entitled to disposition under s ection 166 is not disposed of by him, the creditor shall be paid t he current
interest due to him from the insolvency estate beginning from the report meeting. If the insolvency court issued an order under s ection 21 prohibiting the creditor to dispose of the
object before the insolvency proceedings were opened, the inter est due shall be paid at the
latest from the date three months after such order by the court. The first and second
sentences shall not apply to the extent to which, in view of the amount of the creditor's claim,
the value and any other right encumbering the object will probably not be sufficient in order
to satisfy the creditor by the proceeds of the disposition.
Section 170
Distribution of Proceeds
(1) Subsequent to disposition of a movable item or a claim by the insolvency administrator
the costs of deter mining and disposing of the object shall be credited to the insolvency estate
in advance using the proceeds. The remaining amount shall be used without delay to satisfy the creditor with a right to separate satisfaction.
(2) If the insolvency administrator transfers an object with regard to which he is entitled to
disposition under s ection 166 to the creditor to be disposed of by the latter, the creditor shall
contribute an amount covering the costs of determination and turnover tax (s ection 171
subs ection (2), third sentence) in advance to the insolvency estate using the proceeds
gained by him.
Section 171
Calculation of the Contribution to Costs
(1) The costs of determination comprise the costs of the actual identification of the object and of the determination of any rights encumbering the object. Such costs shall be rated as a
lump sum of four per cent of the proceeds.
(2) The costs of disposition shall be rated as a lump sum of five per cent of the proceeds. If
the costs actually incurred which were necessary for the disposition were considerably lower
or considerably higher, these costs shall be taken as a basis. If disposition entails the
insolvency estate incurring turnover tax, this amount shall be charged in addition to the lump sum pursuant to the f irst sentence or the costs actually incurred pursuant to the second
sentence.
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Page 45 of 89 Section 172
Other Use of Movables
(1) The insolvency administrator may use a movable item with regard to which he is entitled
to disposition for the insolvency estate if the loss in value accruing from such use is
recompensed by current payments to the creditor beginning from the opening of the
insolvency proceedings. Such obligation to recompensing payments shall only exist to the
extent to which the loss in value accruing from s uch use impairs the security of the creditor
with a right to separate satisfaction.
(2) The administrator shall be entitled to combine, merge and transform such object with
other property so long as such change of the condition of the object does not impai r the
security of the creditor with a right to separate satisfaction. If the creditor's right devolves to
other property, the creditor shall transfer such new security to the administrator to the extent
to which its value exceeds the previous value.
Sectio n 173
Disposition by the Creditor
(1) If the insolvency administrator is not entitled to dispose of a movable item or a claim subject to a claim to separate satisfaction, the creditor's right to dispose of such object shall
remain unaffected.
(2) At the administrator's request and after hearing the creditor the insolvency court may
determine a period of time during which the creditor has to dispose of the object. Upon
expiry of such period of time the administrator shall be entitled to its disposition.
Part Five
Satisfaction of the Insolvency Creditors.
Discontinuation of the Proceedings
Chapter One
Determination of Claims
Section 174
Filing of Claims
(1) The insolvency creditors must file their claims in writing with the insolvency administrator.
Such filin g shall be accompanied by copies of the documents evidencing the claim. Persons
providing coll ection services (registered persons pursuant to s ection 10 subs ection (1), first
sentence, no. 1 of the Act on Legal Services (Rechtsdienstleistungsgesetz)) shall also be
authorized to represent the creditor in the proceedings pursuant to this section.
(2) Upon its filing the reason and the amount of the claim shall be indicated, as shall the
facts from which in the view of the creditor it emerges that it is based on an unauthorized act
on the part of the debtor committed with intent.
(3) Lower -ranking creditors shall file their claims only if specifically requested by the
insolvency court to do so. Upon filing such claims their lower -ranking status shall be
indicat ed, and the creditor's lower rank shall be designated.
(4) The claims may be filed by transmitting an electronic document if the insolvency administrator has explicitly consented to such transmission of electronic documents. In such
a case, the documents evidencing the claim shall be filed subsequently without delay.
Section 175
Schedule
(1) The insolvency administrator shall enter every registered claim into a schedule with the indications under s ection 174 subs ections (2) and (3). Such schedule shall be deposited with
the registry of the insolvency court together with the applications and enclosed certificates for the parties' inspection within the first third of the period of time between the expiry of the
filing period and the verification meeting.
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Page 46 of 89 (2) If a creditor has registered a claim from an unauthorized act committed with intent, the
insolvency court shall indicate to the debtor the legal consequences of s ection 302 and the
possibility of an objection.
Section 176
Proceedings of the Verification Mee ting
During the verification meeting the filed claims shall be verified in accordance with their
amount and rank. Claims contested by the insolvency administrator, by the debtor or by an
insolvency creditor shall be discussed individually.
Section 177
Subs equent Filings
(1) During the verification meeting verification shall also include claims filed after expiry of
the filing period. However, if the insolvency administrator or an insolvency creditor objects to
the verification of such claims, or if a claim is filed only after the verification meeting, the
insolvency court shall either docket a special verification meeting or order verification in written proceedings, and burden the defaulter with the costs. The first and second sentences
shall apply mutatis mutandis to subsequent amendments to filed claims.
(2) If the insolvency court requested lower -ranking creditors to file their claims in accordance
with s ection 174 subs ection (3) and if the period of time determined for such filings expires
later than one week prior to the verification meeting, the court shall either docket a special
verification meeting or order verification in written proceedings, and burden the i nsolvency
estate with its costs .
(3) The date of the special verification meeting shall be published. The insolvency creditors filing claims, the insolvency administrator and the debtor shall receive individual summons to
such meeting. S ection 74 subs ection (2), second sentence, shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 178
Prerequisites and Effects of the Determination of Claims
(1) A claim shall be deemed to have been determined if no obj ection is raised by the
insolvency administrator or by an insolvency creditor during the verification meeting, or in the
written proceedings (s ection 177) or if any objection raised by a party is removed. The
debtor's obj ection shall not bar determination of a claim.
(2) For each filed claim the insolvency court shall enter in the schedule the extent to which a
claim was determined with its amount or rank, or which party objected to its determination.
An obj ection on the part of the debtor shall also be entered in the schedule. Determination
shall be marked on bills of exchange and any other debt instruments by the registrar of the
insolvency court.
(3) For claims det ermined with their amount and rank, entry into the schedule shall have the
legal effect of a final judgment with respect to the insolvency administrator and all insolvency
creditors.
Section 179
Contested Claims
(1) If a claim was contested by the insolvency administrator or by an insolvency creditor, initiation of proceedings to determine such claim against the denying party shall be left to the
creditor.
(2) If such claim is based on an executable deed or a final judgment, following up the denial
shall be incumbent on the denying party.
(3) The insolvency court shall provide the creditor whose claim was contested with a certified
extract from the schedule. In the case mentioned at subs ection (2) the denying party shall
also receive such extract. The credit ors whose claims have been determined shall not be
notified; the creditors' attention shall be drawn to this prior to the verification meeting.
Section 180
Competence for the Determination of Claims
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Page 47 of 89 (1) An action for the determination of a claim shall be b rought under the provisions governing
ordinary civil proceedings. The local court where the insolvency proceedings are or were
pending shall have exclusive jurisdiction for such action. If the subject -matter of the action
does not fall under the jurisdicti on of the local courts, the regional court in whose district the
insolvency court is located shall have exclusive jurisdiction.
(2) If an action concerning such claim was pending on the date when the insolvency
proceedings were opened, determination of the claim shall be initiated by the joinder of such
action.
Section 181
Scope of Determination
Determination of a claim with its grounds, amount and rank may only be applied for to the extent indicated when it was filed or during the verification meeting.
Section 182
Value of Action
The value of an action to determine a claim whose legal validity was contested by the
insolvency administrator or by an insolvency creditor shall depend on the amount to be
expected for the claim as a result of distribution of the insolvency estate.
Section 183
Effect of the Decision
(1) A decision with final and binding effect determining a claim or sustaining an objection shall be effective with respect to the insolvency administrator and all insolvency
creditors.
(2) The prevaili ng party shall request amendment of the schedule with the insolvency court.
(3) If only individual creditors have pursued the action but not the insolvency administrator,
these creditors may claim reimbursement of their costs from the insolvency estate to the
extent to which such assets have benefited from the judicial decision.
Section 184
Action to Enforce a Claim Contested by the Debtor
(1) If the debtor contested a claim during the verification meeting or in the written
proceedings (s ection 177), the cr editor may bring an action against the debtor in order to
determine such claim. If an action concerning such claim was pending on the date when the
insolvency proceedings were opened, the creditor may continue such action against the
debtor.
(2) If an exec utable deed or a final judgment exists for such a claim, the debtor shall be
obligated to pursue the claim within a period of one month beginning on the date of the verification meeting or in written proceedings when the claim is contested. After the ineffectual lapse of time, an obj ection shall be deemed not to have been raised. The
insolvency court shall provide the debtor and the creditor whose claim was contested with a certified excerpt of the schedule and shall indicate to the debtor the consequences of failing to meet a deadline. The debtor shall provide proof to the court that he has pursued the claim.
Section 185
Special Jurisdiction
If an action for the determination of a claim could not be brought under the provisions governing ordinary civil proc eedings, its determination shall be initiated with any other court
having jurisdiction or with the competent administrative agency. S ection 180 subs ection (2)
and s ections 181, 183 and 184 shall apply mutatis mutandis. If another court has jurisdiction
to determine such claim, s ection 182 shall also apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 186
Restitutio in Integrum
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Page 48 of 89 (1) If the debtor did not attend the verification meeting, the insolvency court, at his request,
shall grant him restitutio in integrum. S ections 51 subs ection (2), 85 subs ection (2) and 233
to 236 of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(2) The writs concerning a request of restitutio in integrum shall be served on the creditor whose claim is to be subsequently contested. Contestatio n in such writs shall be deemed
equivalent to denial during the verification meeting if restitutio in integrum is granted.
Chapter Two
Distribution
Section 187
Satisfaction of the Insolvency Creditors
(1) Satisfaction of the insolvency creditors may be ini tiated only after the general verification
meeting.
(2) Funds may be distributed among the insolvency creditors whenever sufficient cash is available in the insolvency estate. Lower -ranking insolvency creditors shall not be
considered for advance distribut ions.
(3) Distributions shall be carried out by the insolvency administrator. Before each distribution he shall obtain the consent of the creditors' committee if one has been appointed.
Section 188
Distribution Record
Prior to distribution the insolvency administrator shall draw up a record of the claims to be considered in respect of distribution. The record shall be deposited with the registry of the
insolvency court for the parties' inspection. The administrator shall inform the court of the
total amount of the claims and the amount available for distribution from the insolvency
estate; the court shall publish the total amount of the claims and the amount available for
distribution from the insolvency estate.
Section 189
Consideration of Contested Claims
(1) An insolvency creditor whose claim has not been determined and is not based on an
executable deed or a final judgment shall, at the latest within a limitation period of two weeks
from publication, prove to the insolvency administrator that and for whic h amount he has
brought an action to determine the claim or joindered the proceedings to a previously
pending action.
(2) If proof is provided in good time, the share allocated to such claim shall be retained from
distribution as long as such action is pending.
(3) If proof is not provided in good time, the claim shall not be taken into account in
distribution.
Section 190
Consideration of Creditors with a Right to Separate Satisfaction
(1) A creditor with a right to separate satisfaction shall, at the latest within the limitation period under s ection 189 subs ection (1), prove to the insolvency administrator that and for
which amount he has waived separate satisfaction or his claim was not met by such separate satisfaction. If proof is not provided in good t ime, the claim shall not be taken into
account in distribution.
(2) The creditor shall be deemed to have met his obligation under subs ection (1) in order to
share in advance distribution if he, at the latest within such limitation period, proves to the insolvency administrator that disposition of the object subject to a right to separate
satisfaction is being initiated, and which amount of his claim is likely not to be satisfied. In
such a case the share covering the amount of his claim shall be retained in distribution. If the
conditions under subs ection (1) are not met at final distribution, the retained share shall be
free to flow into the final distribution.
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Page 49 of 89 (3) If only the insolvency administrator is entitled to dispose of an object subject to a right t o
separate satisfaction, subs ections (1) and (2) shall not apply. In the case of advance
distribution, if the administrator has not yet disposed of the object, he shall estimate the
extent to which the creditor's claim will not be met by separate satisfact ion and retain the
share covering such claim.
Section 191
Consideration of Claims Subject to a Condition Precedent
(1) The full amount of claims subject to a condition precedent shall be taken into account in the case of advance distribution. The share cov ering the claim shall be retained in
distribution.
(2) Claims subject to a condition precedent shall not be taken into account during final
distribution if the possibility of accomplishment of the condition is so distant that the claim is
valueless on the date of distribution. In such a case the share retained under subs ection (1),
second sentence, shall be free to flow into final distribution.
Section 192
Subsequent Consideration
Creditors not taken into account in advance distribution who subsequently meet the
conditions under s ections 189 and 190 shall in the next distribution be advanced an amount
from the remainder of the insolvency estate placing them on an equal footing with the other
creditors.
Section 193
Amendments to the Distribution Record
The insolvency administrator shall append any amendment to the record required under
sections 189 to 192 within three days of the expiry of the limitation period mentioned at
section 189 subs ection (1).
Section 194
Objections to the Distribution Record
(1) In th e case of advance distribution, a creditor shall bring his obj ection to the record to the
notice of the insolvency court within one week after expiry of the limitation period mentioned at section 189 subs ection (1).
(2) A judicial decision overruling obj ections shall be served on the creditor and the
insolvency administrator. The creditor may bring an immediate appeal against such a
decision.
(3) A judicial decision ordering a corr ection to the record shall be served on the creditor and
the administrator and deposited with the registry of the insolvency court for the parties' inspection. The administrator and the insolvency creditors may bring an immediate appeal
against such a decision. The period of such appeal shall begin on the day of the deposit of
the decision.
Section 195
Determination of a Fraction
(1) At the proposal of the insolvency administrator, the creditors' committee shall determine the fraction to be paid in the case of advance distribution. If no creditors' committee has
been appointed, the insolvency administrator shall identify such fraction.
(2) The administrator shall bring such fraction to the notice of those creditors who have been
taken into account.
Section 196
Final Distribution
(1) Final distribution shall take place as soon as the insolvency estate has been disposed of, with the exception of current income.
(2) Final distribution shall require the consent of the insolvency court.
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Page 50 of 89 Section 197
Final Meeting
(1) While consenting to final distribution the insolvency court shall docket a meeting for the
final creditors' assembly. During such meeting
1. the insolvency administrator's final account shall be discussed,
2. objections to the final record may be brought, and
3. the creditors shall decide on any objects forming part of the insol vency estate
not apt to be disposed of.
(2) The period of time extending between the publication of the date of the meeting and such
meeting shall not fall below one month and not exceed two months.
(3) S ection 194 subs ections (2) and (3) shall apply mutat is mutandis to the decision of the
insolvency court on obj ections raised by a creditor.
Section 198
Deposit of Retained Funds
Funds to be retained in final distribution shall be deposited with a suitable agency by the
insolvency administrator on account of the parties involved.
Section 199
Surplus Resulting from Final Distribution
If the claims of all insolvency creditors can be satisfied in final distribution, the insolvency administrator shall transfer any remaining surplus to the debtor. If the debtor is not a natural
person, the insolvency administrator shall transfer to any person owning a share of the debtor's capital the share of such surplus devolving to such person under liquidation outside
the insolvency proceedings
Section 200
Termination of the I nsolvency Proceedings
(1) As soon as final distribution has been carried out, the insolvency court shall decide on
termination of the insolvency proceedings.
(2) Such decision and the reason underlying such termination shall be published. Sections 31 to 33 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 201
Rights of the Insolvency Creditors Subsequent to Termination
(1) Subsequent to termination of the insolvency proceedings, the creditors of these proceedings may enforce the remainder of their claims against the de btor without restriction.
(2) Insolvency creditors who have determined claims which have not been contested by the
debtor during the verification meeting may enforce such claims against the debtor by way of
execution on the legal basis of their entry into the schedule as under an executable
judgment. A claim with an overruled obj ection shall be equivalent to a claim not contested.
The application for the issuance of an executable copy of the schedule may not be filed until
the insolvency proceedings have been terminated.
(3) Provisions on discharge of residual debt shall remain unaffected.
Section 202
Jurisdiction for Execution
(1) Under the circumstance of s ection 201, the local court where the insolvency proceedings
are or were pending shall have exclusive jurisdiction for any action
1. brought to obtain the clause of execution;
2. brought to deny the accomplishment of the prerequisites to grant such clause
after it was obtained;
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Page 51 of 89 3. brought to enforce any obj ection to the claim itself.
(2) If the subject -matter of such action does not fall within the jurisdiction of the local courts,
exclusive jurisdiction shall be vested in the regional court in whose district the insolvency
court is located.
Section 203
Order to Carry Out Delayed Distribution
(1) At the re quest of the insolvency administrator or of an insolvency creditor or ex officio the
insolvency court shall order delayed distribution if after the final meeting
1. retained funds become available for distribution;
2. funds paid from the insolvency estate flow back to them; or
3. objects forming part of the insolvency estate are identified.
(2) Termination of the insolvency proceedings shall not bar issuance of an order to carry out delayed distribution.
(3) The court may refrain from issuing such order and transfer the available amount or
identified object to the debtor if such proceedings appear to the court to be adequate given the low value of the amount or of the object and the costs of delayed distribution. It may
condition its order on the advancement of funds covering the costs of such delayed
distribution.
Section 204
Appeal
(1) The decision refusing to carry out delayed distribution shall be served on the requesting
party. Such party may bring an immediate appeal against the decision.
(2) The decisi on ordering delayed distribution shall be served on the insolvency
administrator, the debtor and any creditor requesting such delayed distribution. The debtor may bring an immediate appeal against the decision.
Section 205
Implementation of Delayed Distrib ution
Once delayed distribution has been ordered, the insolvency administrator shall distribute the available amount or the proceeds from disposition of the identified object on the basis of the
final record. He shall render account of such distribution to the insolvency court.
Section 206
Exclusion of Preferential Creditors
Preferential creditors of whose claims the insolvency administrator has become aware
1. only after determination of the fraction in advance distribution,
2. only after the final meeting had been closed during final distribution, or
3. if delayed distribution was ordered, only after its publication,
may claim satisfaction only from the funds remaining in the insolvency estate after
distribution.
Chapter Three
Discontinuation of Insolvency Proceedings
Section 207
Discontinuation for Insufficiency of Assets
(1) If after the insolvency proceedings have been opened it is found that the insolvency estate is insufficient to cover the costs of the proceedings, the insolvency court shall
discontinue such proceedings. Discontinuation shall not be ordered if sufficient funds are
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Page 52 of 89 advanced or if the costs are deferred in accordance with s ection 4a; s ection 26
subs ection (3) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(2) The creditors' assembly, the insolvency administrator and the preferential creditors shall
be heard prior to discontinuation.
(3) Any cash funds available in the insolvency estate shall be used by the administrator prior
to discontinuation of the proceedings in order to settle the costs of the procee dings, and
among such costs firstly expenses in proportion to their amounts. The administrator shall no
longer be under an obligation to dispose of the insolvency estate.
Section 208
Notification of Insufficiency of Assets
(1) If the costs of the insolvenc y proceedings are covered but the insolvency estate is
insufficient to settle the other mature obligations incumbent on the estate, the insolvency administrator shall notify the insolvency court of the insufficiency of the assets. The same
shall apply if i t is likely that the assets will be insufficient to meet the other existing
obligations incumbent on the estate on the date of their maturity.
(2) The court shall publish the notification of insufficiency of assets. Such notification shall be served separately on the preferential creditors.
(3) The duty incumbent on the insolvency administrator to administer and dispose of the
insolvency estate shall also continue subsequent to the notification of the insufficiency of the assets.
Section 209
Satisfaction of Preferential Creditors
(1) The insolvency administrator shall settle the obligations incumbent on the insolvency
estate in the following order, and equal -ranking obligations in proportion to the amounts:
1. the costs of the insolvency proceedings;
2. obligations incumbent on the insolvency estate which became legally effective
after notification of the insufficiency of the assets without falling under the costs of the
proceedings;
3. the other obligations incumbent on the estate, including lastly the maint enance
granted pursuant to s ections 100 and 101 subs ection (1), third sentence.
(2) The following shall also be deemed obligations incumbent on the estate in the meaning of
subs ection (1) no. 2
1. obligations under a mutual contract for whose performance t he administrator
opted subsequent to notifying of the insufficiency of assets;
2. obligations under a continuing obligation for the period after the first date on
which the administrator was entitled to terminate such contract after notifying of the
insuff iciency of assets;
3. obligations under a continuing obligation to the extent that the administrator has
claimed its consideration to the benefit of the insolvency estate after notifying of the
insufficiency of assets.
Section 210
Prohibition of Execution
As soon as the insolvency administrator has given notification of the insufficiency of the assets, execution in respect of an obligation incumbent on the estate in the meaning of
section 209 subs ection (1) no. 3 shall be inadmissible.
Section 210a
Insolven cy Plan In the Case of Insufficient Assets
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Page 53 of 89 The provisions concerning the insolvency plan shall apply in the even t of notification of
insufficient assets, with the proviso that
1. the preferential creditors , having the rank referred to in section 209 subsec tion
(1), no. 3, shall stand in lieu of the non- lower -ranking insolvency creditors and
2. Section 246 no. 2 shall apply mutatis mutandis in regard to the non- lower –
ranking insolvency creditors.
Section 211
Discontinuation upon Notification of Insufficiency of Assets
(1) As soon as the insolvency administrator has distributed the insolvency estate under
section 209, the insolvency court shall discontinue the insolvency proceedings.
(2) The administrator shall render separate account of his activities after notification of the
insufficiency of the assets.
(3) If objects forming part of the insolvency estate are identified after discontinuation of such
proceedings, the court, at the request of the administrator or of a preferential creditor or ex officio, shall order delayed distribution. S ection 203 subs ection (3), as well as s ections 204
and 205 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 212
Discontinuation for Subsequent Lack of Grounds to Open Insolvency Proceedings
At the debtor's request the insolvency proceedi ngs shall be discontinued if it is ensured that,
after such discontinuation, he will no longer be subject either to insolvency or imminent
insolvency or, insofar as overindebtedness was the reason for the opening of insolvency
proceedings, to overindebtedness. Admissibility of such a request shall require the debtor to
show to the satisfaction of the court that there is no reason to open insolvency proceedings.
Section 213
Discontinuation with the Creditors' Consent
(1) At the debtor's request the insolvenc y proceedings shall be discontinued if, after expiry of
the filing period, he submits declarations of consent on the part of all insolvency creditors who have filed claims. For creditors whose claims are contested by the debtor or by the
insolvency adminis trator, and in the case of creditors with a right to separate satisfaction, the
insolvency court shall decide on its own discretion on the requirement for consent to be given by such creditors or a security to be provided to them.
(2) The proceedings may b e discontinued at the debtor's request even prior to expiry of the
filing period if no other creditors are known than those whose declarations of consent were
submitted by the debtor.
Section 214
Discontinuation Procedure
(1) A request to discontinue insol vency proceedings under s ections 212 or 213 shall be
published. It shall be deposited with the registry of the court for the parties' inspection; in the case mentioned at s ection 213 it shall be accompanied by the creditors' declarations of
consent. The insolvency creditors may object to such a request in writing within one week
after publication.
(2) Before deciding on the discontinuation of insolvency proceedings the court shall hear the
requesting party, the insolvency administrator and the creditors' committee, if one has been appointed. If a creditor objects to such a request, he shall also be heard by the court.
(3) Prior to discontinuation, the administrator shall settle any claims on the insolvency estate which have not been contested and provide a s ecurity for claims which have been contested.
Section 215
Publication and Legal Effects of Discontinuation
(1) A decision discontinuing insolvency proceedings under s ections 207, 211, 212 or 213
and the reason underlying such discontinuation shall be publi shed. The date when such
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Page 54 of 89 discontinuation will become effective (s ection 9 subs ection (1), third sentence) shall be
brought to the notice of the debtor, the insolvency administrator and the members of the
creditors' committee in advance. S ection 200 subs ection (2), second sentence, shall apply
mutatis mutandis.
(2) Upon discontinuation of the insolvency proceedings the right to dispose freely of the insolvency estate shall be transferred back to the debtor. S ections 201 and 202 shall apply
mutatis mutandis.
Section 216
Appeal
(1) If the insolvency proceedings are discontinued under s ections 207, 212 or 213, each
creditor may bring an immediate appeal, and also the debtor may bring an immediate appeal
if his insolvency proceedings were discontinued under s ection 207.
(2) If a request is rejected under s ections 212 or 213, the debtor may bring an immediate
appeal.
Part Six
Insolvency Plan
Chapter One
Establishment of the Plan
Section 217
Policy
Counter to the provisions of this Statute, the satisfaction of credi tors entitled to separate
satisfaction and of the insolvency creditors, the disposition of the insolvency estate and its
distribution to the parties concerned, as well as the insolvency procedure and the debtor's
liability subsequent to the termination of the insolvency proceedings may be settled in an
insolvency plan. If the debtor is not natural person , the share rights and membership rights of
those persons with a participating interest in the debtor may be included in the plan.
Section 218
Submission of the Insolvency Plan
(1) The insolvency administrator and the debtor shall be entitled to submit an insolvency plan to the insolvency court. Submission by the debtor may be connected with a request to open
insolvency proceedings. A plan received by the court after the final creditors' assembly shall
not be taken into account.
(2) If the creditors' assembly has charged the administrator with the establishment of an
insolvency plan, the administrator shall submit such plan to the court within a reasonable
period of time.
(3) The creditors' committee, if one has been appointed, the works council, the spokesman
of officers and the debtors shall assist in and advise on the establishment of the plan by the
administrator.
Section 219
Breakdown of the Plan
The insol vency plan shall consist of a declaratory and a constructive part. It shall be
accompanied by the attachments mentioned at s ections 229 and 230.
Section 220
Declaratory Part
(1) The declaratory part of the insolvency plan shall describe the measures taken or still to
be taken after opening the insolvency proceedings in order to create the basis for the
envisaged establishment of the rights held by the parties involved.
(2) The declaratory part shall contain all other information on the basis and effects of the
plan which are relevant to the decision of the parties concerned on approval of the plan, and
for its approval by the court.
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Page 55 of 89 Section 221
Constructive Part
The constructive part of the insolvency plan shall determine how the insolvency plan shall
transf orm the legal position of the parties involved. The insolvency plan may stipulate that
the insolvency administrator be authoriz ed to take the measures necessary to implement it
and to correct any obvious errors it contains .
Section 222
Formation of Groups
(1) While determining the rights held by the parties involved in the insolvency plan, groups shall be formed where the parties concerned have differing legal status. A distinction shall be
made between
1. the creditors entitled to separate satisfaction if their rights are encroached upon
by the plan;
2. the non- lower -ranking creditors;
3. each class of lower -ranking insolvency creditors, unless their claims are
deemed to be waived pursuant to s ection 225.
4. those persons with a participating interest in the debtor where their share rights
or membership rights are included in the plan.
(2) Parties with equal rights may form groups in which parties with equivalent economic
interests are set together. Such groups shall be adequately separated from each other. The criteria of their separation shall be indicated in the plan.
(3) Employees shall form a separate group if they are claiming major amounts as insolvency creditors. Separate groups may be formed for minor creditors and for minor shareholders
whose share in the liable capital amounts to less than one per cent or to less than one
thousand euros.
Section 223
Rights of Creditors Entitled to Separate Satisfaction
(1) If the insolvency plan does not provide otherwise, the plan shall not affect the right of
creditors entitled to separate satisfaction to achieve satisfaction from objects subject to rights
of separation. Any derogating provision shall be ruled out in respect of financial securities
within the meaning of s ection 1 subs ection (17) of the Banking Act, as well as securities
provided to
1. the operator or the participant in a system pursuant to s ection 1 subs ection (16)
of the Banking Act to secure his claims under the system, or
2. the central bank of a Member State of the European Union or the European
Central Bank.
(2) If the plan provides otherwise, the plan in its constructive part shall, for creditors entitled
to separate satisfaction, indicate the fraction by which their rights will be reduced, detail the
period of respite for their claims, or prov ide for any other provisions binding upon them.
Section 224
Rights of the Insolvency Creditors
For the non- lower -ranking creditors the constructive part of the insolvency plan shall indicate
the fraction by which their claims will be reduced, detail the period of respite for their claims, announce the securities for them or provide for any other provisions to which they are to be
subjected.
Section 225
Rights of Lower -ranking Insolvency Creditors
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Page 56 of 89 (1) The claims of lower -ranking insolvency creditors shall be deemed waived unless the
insolvency plan provides otherwise.
(2) If the insolvency plan provides otherwise, the constructive part, for each group of lower –
ranking creditors, shall give the indications required under s ection 224.
(3) The debtor's liability for fines and his obligations equal to such penalties under s ection 39
subs ection (1) no. 3 subsequent to termination of the insolvency proceedings can neither be
excluded nor limited by a plan.
Section 225a
Rights of the Shareholders
(1) The share rights and membership rights of those persons with a participating interest in
the debtor shall remain unaffected by the insolvency plan, unless otherwise provided in the
plan.
(2) The constructive part of the plan may provide that the creditors' claims ma y be converted
into share rights or membership rights in the debtor. Such conversion shall be ruled out if it is
against the will of the creditors concerned. In particular, the plan may provide for a decrease
or increase in capital, the provision of contributions in kind, the ruling out of subscription
rights , or the payment of compensation to outgoing shareholders .
(3) The plan may set out any rule permissible under company law, in particular regarding the
continuation of a dissolved enterprise or the transfer of share rights and membership rights .
(4) M easures in accordance with subsecti on (2) or (3) shall not authoriz e the holder to
rescind or terminate contracts to which the debtor is a party . Nor do they lead to the
contracts being otherwise rescinded. Any co ntrary contractual agreements shall be invalid .
Agreements reached on the basis of the debtor's breach of duty shall remain unaffected by
the first and second sentences, insofar as they do not consist solely in a measure referred to
in subsection (2) and ( 3) being contemplated or carried out .
(5) Where a measure in accordance with subsection (2) or (3) represents an important
reason for a person with a participating interest in the debtor leav ing the legal entity or
company without legal personality and if use is made of this right of withdrawal, the financial
status which would have arisen if the debtor had been wound up shall be decisive in regard
to determining the amount of any possible compensation. Payment of the compensation may
be deferred over a per iod of no more than three years to avoid placing an inappropriate
burden on the debtor's financial status . Interest shall be added to any unpaid compensation .
Section 226
Equal Treatment of Parties Involved
(1) Within each group all parties involved shall be offered equal rights.
(2) Any distinct treatment of the parties forming one group shall require the consent of all
parties concerned. In such a case the insolvency plan shall be accompanied by each party's
statement of consent.
(3) Any agreement conclud ed by the insolvency administrator, the debtor or any other
person and individual parties providing for an advantage not envisaged under the plan in
consideration of such parties' conduct in votes or otherwise with respect to the insolvency
proceedings shall be void.
Section 227
Debtor's Liability
(1) If the insolvency plan does not provide otherwise, the debtor shall be discharged of his residual obligations held by the insolvency creditors by the satisfaction of such creditors
under the constructive part.
(2) If the debtor is a company without legal personality or a partnership limited by shares,
subs ection (1) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the partners' personal liability.
Section 228
Modification of Conditions under Property Law
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Page 57 of 89 If rights in objects ar e to be created, modified, transferred or waived, any legal declarations
necessary from the parties involved may be included in the constructive part of the
insolvency plan. If registered rights in real estate or in registered rights are involved, such
rights shall be detailed in compliance with s ection 28 of the Land Register Code. The second
sentence shall apply mutatis mutandis to rights registered in the register of ships and the
register of ships under construction, or in the register of liens on aircr aft.
Section 229
Survey of Assets. Earnings and Finance Plan
If it is envisaged that the creditors will be satisfied from the earnings derived from the
debtor's enterprise continued by the debtor or by a third party, the insolvency plan shall be
accompanie d by a survey of assets listing the values of assets and obligations to be
balanced should the plan become effective. In addition, the plan shall indicate the expenses
and earnings to be expected during the period of the creditors' satisfaction, and by whi ch
succession of earnings and expenses the liquidity of the enterprise will be maintained during such period. Account must also be taken of those creditors who have not registered their
claims but who are known when the plan is being drawn up .
Section 230
Further Attachments
(1) If the insolvency plan provides for the debtor to continue his enterprise, and if the debtor is a natural person, the plan shall be accompanied by the debtor's statement of willingness
to continue the enterprise under the plan. If t he debtor is a company without legal personality
or a partnership limited by shares, the plan shall be accompanied by a similar statement by
those persons who are, according to the plan, general partners . The debtor's statement
under the first sentence shall not be required from a debtor submitting the plan himself.
(2) If it is envisaged that creditors will acquire shares, membership rights or interests in a
legal person, an unincorporated association or in a company without legal personality, the
plan sha ll be accompanied by the declaration of consent of each such creditor.
(3) If a third party has agreed to enter into obligations to the creditors if the plan is approved,
the plan shall be accompanied by the statement of such third party.
Section 231
Refus al of the Plan
(1) The insolvency court shall refuse the insolvency plan ex officio
1. if the provisions governing the right to submit a plan and its contents , in
particular regarding the forming of groups , are not complied with, and the submitting party
is unable to correct such defect or does not correct it within a reasonable period of time
fixed by the court;
2. if a plan submitted by the debtor obviously has no chance of being accepted by
the parties concerned or approved by the court; or
3. if the cla ims provided for the parties under the constructive part of a plan
submitted by the debtor obviously cannot be satisfied.
The court shall take its decision within two weeks following submission of the plan.
(2) If in the insolvency proceedings the debtor has already submitted a plan which has been
refused by the parties concerned, not approved by the court or withdrawn by the debtor after
publication of the date of the discussion meeting, the court shall refuse a new plan by the debtor if such refusal is re quested by the insolvency administrator with the consent of the
creditors' committee, if appointed.
(3) The submitting party may bring an immediate appeal against the order refusing the plan.
Section 232
Comments on the Plan
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Page 58 of 89 (1) If the insolvency plan is not refused, the insolvency court shall forward it to the following
for their comments:
1. the creditors' committee, if appointed, the works council and the spokesmen of
officers;
2. the debtor if the insolvency administrator submitted the plan; and
3. the administrator if the debtor submitted the plan.
(2) The court may also give an opportunity to the official representative body of industry, trade, the craft or of agriculture competent for the debtor or to other expert organizations to express their views.
(3) The court shall set the deadline for submission of the comments. The deadline shall not
exceed two weeks .
Section 233
Suspension of Disposition and Distribution
To the extent to which continued disposition and distribution of the insolvency estate would impair the implementation of an insolvency plan which has been submitted, the insolvency
court shall, at the request of debtor or the insolvency administrator, order suspension of
disposition and distribution. The court shall overrule or stop such suspe nsion if it entails the
risk of considerable disadvantage to the insolvency estate or if the administrator with the
consent of the creditors' committee or assembly requests continuation of disposition and
distribution.
Section 234
Laying Out of the Plan
The insolvency plan with its attachments and any comments received shall be laid out for the
parties' inspection in the registry of the court.
Chapter Two
Acceptance and Approval of the Plan
Section 235
Discussion and Voting Meeting
(1) The insolvency court shall docket a meeting to discuss the insolvency plan and the voting
rights of the p arties concerned and subsequently to vote on the plan (discussion and voting
meeting). Such meeting shall not be docketed later than one month. It may be fixed for the
same day docketed for the submission of comments in accordance with section 232.
(2) The date of the discussion and voting meeting shall be published. Publication shall
indicate the availability of the plan and of any comments received for insp ection in the
registry of the court. S ection 74 subs ection (2), second sentence, shall apply mutatis
mutandis.(3) Insolvency creditors who have filed claims, creditors entitled to separate satisfaction, the insolvency administrator, the debtor, the works council and the s pokesmen
of officers shall receive individual summons. A copy of the plan or a summary of its essential contents, to be provided at the request of the submitting party, shall be sent with the summons. If the share rights and membership rights of thos e pers ons with a participating
interest in the debt or are included in the plan, those persons shall also be summoned
pursuant to the first and second sentences; this shall not apply to shareholders or limited liability shareholders in a partnership limited by shares . Section 121 subsection (4a) of the
Stock Corporation Act ( Aktiengesetz ) shall apply mutatis mutandis to listed companies; they
shall publish a summary of the essential contents of the plan on their website.
Section 236
Coincidence with the Verificati on Meeting
The discussion and voting meeting may not be docketed prior to the verification meeting. Both meetings, however, may be docketed to coincide.
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Page 59 of 89 Section 237
Voting Right of the Insolvency Creditors
(1) S ection 77 subs ection (1), first sentence, as well as subs ections (2) and (3) no. 1 shall
apply mutatis mutandis to the voting right of the insolvency creditors while voting on the
insolvency plan. Creditors entitled to separate satisfaction may only vote as insolvency
creditors if the debtor is personally liable to them and if they waive their right to separate
satisfaction or are not satisfied under such right; as long as their non- satisfaction has not
been determined, they shall be taken into account with the probable value of their non-
satisfaction.
(2) Creditors whose claims are not impaired by the plan shall have no voting right.
Section 238
Voting Right of Creditors Entitled to Separate Satisfaction
(1) If the legal status of creditors entitled to separate satisfaction is covered in the insolvenc y
plan, the rights of such individual creditors shall be discussed at the meeting. A voting right
shall be vested in rights to separate satisfaction denied by neither the insolvency administrator, the creditors entitled to separate satisfaction nor the ins olvency creditors.
Sections 41 and 77 subs ection (2), as well as subs ection (3) no. 1 shall apply mutatis
mutandis to the voting right of denied, suspended or immature rights.
(2) S ection 237 subs ection (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 238a
Voting Right of Shareholders
(1) The voting right of the debtor's shareholders shall be determined solely by their
participating interest in the debtor's subscribed capital or assets . No account shall be taken
of any limitations on voting rights , of special or m ultiple voting rights .
(2) Section 237 subsection ( 2) shall apply mutatis mutandis .
Section 239
Voting List
The registrar of the court registry shall record in a list the voting rights of the p arties
concerned resulting from the meeting.
Section 240
Modifi cation of the Plan
The submitting party shall be entitled to modify the contents of individual provisions of the insolvency plan in accordance with the results of the discussion meeting. A vote may be
taken at the same meeting on the modified plan.
Section 241
Separate Voting Meeting
(1) The insolvency court may docket a separate meeting for the vote on the insolvency plan.
In this case, the period of time between the discussion meeting and the voting meeting shall
not extend beyond one month.
(2) The parties concerned with voting rights and the debtor shall be summoned to the voting
meeting. This shall not apply to shareholders or limited liability shareholders in a partnership
limited by shares . It shall suffice for these to publish the date of the meeting. Section 121
subsection (4a) of the Stock Corporation Act shall apply mutatis mutandis to listed
companies . If the plan has been modified, such modification shall be specifically indicated.
Section 242
Voting in Writing
(1) If a separate voting meeting is docketed, the voting right may be exercised in writing.
(2) The insolvency court shall send the voting slip to the parties concerned with voting rights
after the discussion meeting while informing them of their voting right. Voting in writing shall
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Page 60 of 89 not be counted unless received by the court not later than one day prior to the voting
meeting; this shall be referred to when the voting slip is forwarded.
Section 243
Voting by Groups
Each group of parties concerned with voting rights shall vote on the insolvency plan
separately.
Section 244
Necessary Majorities
(1) Acceptance of the insolvency plan by the creditors shall require that, in each group,
1. the majority of creditors with voting rights backs the plan, and
2. the sum of claims held by creditors backi ng the plan exceeds half of the sum of
claims held by the creditors with voting rights.
(2) Creditors who hold a right jointly or whose rights constituted a uniform right until the
reason to open insolvency proceedings came into effect shall be counted as one creditor in
the vote. The same shall apply if a right is the object of a pledge or a usufruct.
(3) Subsection (1) no. 2 shall apply mutatis mutandis to those persons with a participating
interest in the debtor , with the proviso that the sum of the part icipating interests shall stand in
place of the sum of claims .
Section 245
Prohibition to Obstruct
(1) Even if the necessary majorities have not been achieved, a voting group shall be deemed to have consented if
1. the members of such a group are likely not to be placed at a disadvantage by
the insolvency plan compared with their situation without such plan,
2. the members of such a group participate to a reasonable extent in the economic
value devolving on the parties under the plan, and
3. the majority of the voting groups have backed the plan with the necessary
majorities.
(2) A reasonable participation of a group of creditors for the purpose of subs ection (1) no. 2
shall exist if under the plan
1. no other creditor will receive economic values exceeding the full amount of his
claim;
2. neither a creditor with a lower -ranking claim to satisfaction without a plan,
compared with the creditors forming his group, nor the debtor nor a person holding the
debtor's shares receives an economic value; and
3. no creditor to be satisfied on an equal footing with the creditors forming his
group without a plan receives an advantage with respect to such creditors.
(3) A reasonable participation of a group of shareholders for the purpose of subsection (1)
no. 2 shall exist if under the plan
1. no creditor receives economic benefits exceeding the full amount of his claim
and
2. no shareholder who would be equal in rank to the shareholders in the group
if no plan were drawn up is better placed than the y are .
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Page 61 of 89 Section 246
Cons ent of Lower -ranking Creditors of the Insolvency Proceedings
The following supplemental provisions shall apply to acceptance of the insolvency plan by
the lower -ranking insolvency creditors:
1. The consent of the groups ranking behind s ection 39 subs ection (1) no. 3 shall
be deemed to have been given if none of the insolvency creditors receives an advantage
under the plan compared with the creditors forming such groups.
2. If none of the creditors forming a group votes at all, the consent of this group
shall be deemed to have been given.
Section 246a
Conse nt of the S hareholders
If none of the members of a group of shareholders votes at all , the consent of the group shall
be deemed to have been given .
Section 247
Debtor's Consent
(1) The debtor's consent to t he plan shall be deemed to have been given if he does not
oppose the plan in writing at the latest in the voting meeting.
(2) An opposing opinion under subs ection (1) shall be deemed to be irrelevant if
1. the debtor is likely not to be placed at a disadva ntage by the plan compared
with his situation without a plan, and
2. no creditor receives an economic value exceeding the full amount of his claim.
Section 248
Approval by the Court
(1) After acceptance of the insolvency plan by the parties concerned (sections 244 to 246a )
and after obtaining the debtor's consent the plan shall require approval by the insolvency
court.
(2) Before the court gives its decision regarding approval of the plan it shall hear the
insolvency administrator, the creditors' committee, if appointed, and the debtor.
Section 248a
Court Approval of Corrections to the Plan
(1) Corrections to the insolvency plan made by the insolvency administrator in accordance
with section 221, second sentence, shall require approval by the insolvency cour t.
(2) Before the court gives its decision regarding approval of the plan it shall hear the
insolvency administrator, the creditors' committee, if appointed, the creditors and the
shareholders, insofar as their rights are affected, as well as the debtor .
(3) Approval shall be refused, upon request, if, due to changes to the plan resulting from the
corrections, a party concerned is likely to suffer a disadvantage relative to the position he
would have had under the intended effects of the plan. .
(4) The creditors and shareholders referred to in subsection (2) as well as the administrator
may file an immediate appeal against the order approving or refusing to approve the
correction. Section 253 subsection (4) shall apply mutatis mutandis .
Section 249
Plan Subj ect to Conditions
If the insolvency plan provides for the performance of specific contributions or for the implementation of other measures before approval , the plan may not be approved unless
such conditions are met. Approval shall be refused ex officio i f such conditions are not met
even after expiry of an adequate period of time fixed by the insolvency court.
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Page 62 of 89 Section 250
Contravention of Procedural Provisions
Approval shall be refused ex officio if
1. the provisions governing the contents and the procedu ral handling of the
insolvency plan, as well as its acceptance by the consent of the parties concerned and of
the debtor were not complied with regarding an essential aspect and such defect cannot
be corrected, or
2. acceptance of the plan has been effected by improper means, in particular by
an advantage favouring one party concerned.
Section 251
Protection of Minorities
(1) At the request of a creditor or, if the debtor is not a natural person, a person with a
participating interest in the debtor , approval of the insolvency plan shall be refused if
1. the person filing the request opposed the plan in writing or for the records at the
latest in the voting meeting, and
2. the person filing the request is likely to be placed at a disadvantage by the plan
comp ared with his situation without a plan.
(2) Such request shall be admissible only if the requesting party shows to the satisfaction of
the court at the latest on the day of the vot ing meeting that he is likely to be placed at a
disadvantage on account of the plan.
(3) The request shall be rejected if the constructive part provides for funds being made
available in the event that a party concerned shows to the satisfaction of the court that he will
be placed at a disadvantage. Whether the party concerned is to receive compensation from
such funds shall not be a matter for the insolvency proceedings .
Section 252
Publication of Decision
(1) The order approving the insolvency plan or refusing its approval shall be announced at
the voting meeting or at a special meeting to be docketed as soon as possible. S ection 74
subs ection (2), second sentence, shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(2) If the plan is approved, a copy of the plan or a summary of its essential contents shall be
communicated to those insolvency creditors who have filed claims and to creditors entitled to
separate satisfaction with reference to its approval . If the share rights or membership rights
of thos e persons with a participating interest in the debtor are included in the plan, they too
shall be sent the documents; this shall not apply to shareholders and limited liability
shareholders in a partnership limited by shares. Listed companies shall p ublish a summary
of the essential contents of the plan on their website.
Section 253
Appeal
(1) The creditor s, the debtor and, if the debtor is not a natural person, th ose persons with a
participating interest in the debtor, may file an immediate appeal against the order approving
or refusing to approve the insolvency plan .
(2) The immediate appeal against the approval shall be admissible only if the party filing the
appeal
1. has objected to the plan in writing or for the records at the latest during the
voting meeting,
2. has voted against the plan and
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Page 63 of 89 3. has shown to the satisfaction of the court that he will be placed at a significant
disadvantage on account of the plan than without the plan and that this disadvantage
cannot be compensated by means of a payment from the funds referred to in section 251
subsection (3) .
(3) Subsection (2) no. 1 and 2 shall appl y only if when publishing the date of the meeting
(section 235 subsec tion (2)) and the summons to the meeting (section 235 subsection (3) )
special reference was made to the need to object and to reject the plan.
(4) Upon the request of the insolvency administrator , the regional court shall immediately
dismiss the appeal if it appears to be preferential that the insolvency plan take effect as soon
as possible because, to the unfettered satisfaction of the court, the disadvantages on
account of a delay in enf orcing the plan override the disadvantages for the party filing the
appeal ; redress proceedings in accordance with section 572 subsection (1), first sentence, of
the Code of Civil Procedure shall not be taken. This shall not apply in the event of an especi ally serious statutory violation. If the court dismisses the appeal in accordance with the
first sentence, the applicant shall be compensated, from the insolvency estate, for that
damage arising on account of the execution of the plan; the reversal of effects arising from
the insolvency plan cannot be claimed as damages. The regional court that dismissed the
immediate appeal
shall have sole jurisdiction in regard to actions for the payment of
compensation for damages in accordance with the third sentence.
Chapter Three
Effects of the Approved Plan.
Monitoring Implementation of the Plan
Section 254
General Effects of the Plan
(1) As soon as the order approving the insolvency plan becomes final its effects under the
constructive part shall become binding upon all the parties involved.
(2) The plan shall leave unaffected the rights entitling the insolvency creditors against the
debtor's co- obligors and guarantors as well as the rights of such creditors to objects not
forming part of the insolvency estate or deri ving from a priority notice covering such objects.
The debtor, however, shall be discharged by the plan of his co- obligor's, guarantor's or any
other redressing party's claims against himself in the same way as he is discharged of the claims of the insolve ncy creditors.
(3) If a creditor has received better satisfaction than warranted under the plan, he shall not be held liable to restitution.
(4) If the claims of creditors are converted into share rights or membership rights in the
debtor, the debtor may, following approval by the court, assert no claims against the
previous creditors on account of the over -valuation of the claims in the plan.
Section 254a
Rights in Objects . Other Effects
(1) Where rights in objects are to be substantiated, changed, convert ed or revoked or shares
in a private limited company are to be assigned, the declarations of intent of the parties
included in the insolvency plan shall be deemed to have been submitted in the prescribed form.
(2) Where the share rights or membership right s of the persons with a participating interest in
the debtor are included in the plan (section 225a), the decisions of the shareholders which are included in the plan or other declarations of intent made by the parties concerned shall
be deemed to have been submitted in the prescribed form. Summons, announcements and other measures in the preparation of shareholder decisions required under company law
shall be deemed to have been effected in the prescribed form. The insolvency administrator
shall be authori zed to make the necessary registrations with the competent register court .
(3) The same shall apply mutatis mutandis to formal obligations included in the plan bas ed
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Page 64 of 89 on a measure in accordance with subsection (1) or (2) .
Section 254b
Effects for all those Involved
Sections 254 and 254a shall also apply to insolvency creditors who have not registered their
claims and for parties who objected to the insolvency plans .
Section 255
Proviso of Revival
(1) If the claims held by insolvency creditors were deferred or partly waived on the basis of
the constructive part of the insolvency plan, such suspension or waiver shall be no longer binding upon a creditor on whose claims the debtor defaults to a considerable extent in
performance of the plan. Such default to a considerable extent shall be construed only if the
debtor has not paid a mature debt although reminded by the creditor in writing with a period
of grace of at least two weeks.
(2) If new insolvency proceedings are opened for the debtor's assets before the pl an has
been performed to the full, a suspension or waiver shall be no longer binding upon any of the insolvency creditors.
(3) The plan may provide otherwise. However, the plan may not derogate from
subs ection (1) to the detriment of the debtor.
Section 256
Contested Claims. Remaining Claims
(1) If a claim has been contested at the verification meeting or if the amount of the remaining
claim held by a creditor entitled to separate satisfaction has not yet been determined, default
on performing the insolvenc y plan for the purpose of s ection 255 subs ection (1) shall not be
construed if the debtor takes into account the claim until final determination of its amount to
the extent corresponding to the decision of the insolvency court on the voting right of such creditor upon the vote on the plan. If the court has not decided on the voting right, at the
request of the debtor or of the creditor it shall subsequently determine the extent to which the debtor has to provisionally take such claim into account.
(2) If su ch final determination shows the debtor falling short in his payments, he shall pay the
arrears. Default to a considerable extent in performance of the plan shall be construed only if the debtor omits to pay the arrears although reminded by the creditor in writing with a period
of grace of at least two weeks.
(3) If such final determination shows the debtor overpaying, he may claim restitution of the overpaid amount only to the extent exceeding even the immature item of the claim of the
creditor under the i nsolvency plan.
Section 257
Execution under the Plan
(1) Insolvency creditors with determined claims which were not contested by the debtor at
the verification meeting may execute under an approved and final insolvency plan in
connection with entry in the schedule against the debtor as under a judgment declared
executable. A claim in respect of which an obj ection has been raised and overruled shall be
deemed equivalent to a claim which has not been contested. S ection 202 shall apply mutatis
mutandis.
(2) Th e same shall apply to execution against a third party who, by a written statement
submitted to the insolvency court without reserving the beneficium excussionis, has
undertaken responsibility together with the debtor for performance of the plan by the latt er.
(3) If a creditor invokes his rights in the case of considerable default on the part of the debtor
in respect of performance of the plan, he shall show to the satisfaction of the court the reminder and the expiry of the period of grace, but must prove no other facts constituting the
default on the part of the debtor in order to receive an execution clause for such rights and to
initiate such execution.
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Page 65 of 89 Section 258
Termination of the Insolvency Proceedings
(1) As soon as approval of the insolvency plan h as become final and unless the insolvency
plan provides otherwise, the insolvency court shall decide on termination of the insolvency
proceedings.(2) Prior to termination the administrator shall settle those un disputed due
claims on the insolvency estate and provide securities for disputed or undue claims. A
financial plan may also be submitted for undue claims on the insolvency estate which show s
that their satisfaction is guaranteed.
(3) Such decision and the reason for termination shall be published. The debtor, the
insolvency administrator and the members of the creditors' committee shall be informed in
advance of the date when termination will become effective (s ection 9 subs ection (1), third
sentence). S ection 200 subs ection (2), second sentence, shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 259
Effects of Termination
(1) The offices of the insolvency administrator and of the members of the creditors' committee shall expire upon termination of the insolvency proceedings. The right of
unhindered disposition of t he insolvency estate shall be transferred back to the debtor.
(2) The provisions governing monitoring of the implementation of the plan shall remain
unaffected.
(3) An action brought in the insolvency proceedings to contest the debtor's transactions may
be continued by the administrator even after termination of the proceedings if provided for in
the constructive part of the plan. In such a case the action will be carried on for the debtor's account unless the plan provides otherwise.
Section 259a
Protectio n Against Unfair Judicial Execution
(1) If, following the termination of the proceedings, executions on individual creditors who
had not registered their claims at the voting meeting jeopardiz e the enforcement of the
insolvency plan, the insolvency court m ay, upon the request of the debtor, entirely or in part
revoke an execution or deny it for a maximum of three years. The request shall be
admissible only if the debtor can show to the satisfaction of the court the actual claims on
which the jeopard y is bas ed.
(2) If the jeopard y has been shown to the satisfaction of the court, the court may also
temporarily stay the execution.
(3) The court shall, upon request, rev oke or amend its order if this is necessary in view of a
change in the circumstances .
Section 259b
Special Period of Limitation
(1) A creditor's claim which has not been registered by the voting meeting shall be come
statute -barred after one year .
(2) The period of limitation begins to run on the day on which the claim is due and the order
approving the insolvency plan becomes final .
(3) Subsections (1) and (2) shall be applied only if , as a result, the period of limitation of a
claim ends earlier than it would in application of otherwise applicable periods of limitation.
(4) The limitation of a cred itor's claim shall be suspended so long as no execution is
permissible on account of the debtor's protection against unfair judicial execution as set out
in section 259a. The suspension shall end three months after the end of the period of
protection against unfair judicial execution .
Section 260
Monitoring Implementation of the Plan
(1) The constructive part of the insolvency plan may provide for the monitoring of implementation of the plan.
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Page 66 of 89 (2) In the case of subs ection (1), subsequent to termination of t he insolvency proceedings
the performance of the claims of the creditors under the constructive part against the debtor
shall be monitored.
(3) If the constructive part provides for such situation, monitoring shall include performance
of the claims of the creditors under the constructive part against legal persons or companies
without legal personality established after the opening of the insolvency proceedings in order
to take over or continue the debtor's enterprise or plant (takeover company).
Section 261
Tasks and Rights of the Insolvency Administrator
(1) Monitoring shall be incumbent on the insolvency administrator. The offices of the
administrator and of the members of the creditors' committee as well as the supervision of
the court shall continue for such purpose. S ection 22 subs ection (3) shall apply mutatis
mutandis.
(2) During the period of monitoring the administrator shall each year report to the creditors'
committee, if appointed, and to the court on the progress and further expectations of performance of the insolvency plan. Such reporting obligation shall leave unaffected the right
of the creditors' committee and of the court to demand specific information or an
intermediate report at any time.
Section 262
Obligation to Disclosure Incumbent on the Insolvency Administrator
If the insolvency administrator finds that claims monitored for performance are not met or
cannot be met, he shall disclose such failure to the creditors' committee and to the
insolvency court immediately. If no creditors' comm ittee has been appointed, the
administrator shall instead inform all creditors entitled against the debtor or the takeover
company under the constructive part of the insolvency plan.
Section 263
Transactions Requiring Consent
The constructive part of the i nsolvency plan may provide that specific transactions of the
debtor or of the takeover company shall require the consent of the insolvency administrator
during the period of monitoring in order to become effective. S ections 81 subs ection (1) and
82 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 264
Loan Ceiling
(1) The constructive part of the insolvency plan may provide for lower -ranking status for the
insolvency creditors compared with creditors with entitlements deriving from loans or other
credits entered into b y the debtor or the takeover company during the period of monitoring or
held open by a preferential creditor to extend into the period of monitoring. In such a case the maximum amount of such loans shall also be fixed (loan ceiling). It may not exceed the
value of property listed in the survey of assets contained in the plan (s ection 229, first
sentence).
(2) The insolvency creditors shall rank lower under subs ection (1) only in comparison with
creditors entering into an agreement that and to which amount t he main claim, interest and
costs of the loans granted by them are under the loan ceiling, and receiving confirmation of
such agreement in writing from the insolvency administrator.
(3) S ection 39 subs ection (1) no. 5 shall remain unaffected.
Section 265
Lower -ranking Status of New Creditors
Creditors with other contractual claims created during the period of monitoring shall also have a lower -ranking status in comparison with creditors with entitlements deriving from
loans entered into or held open under s ection 264. Claims created under a continuing
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Page 67 of 89 obligation prior to monitoring shall also be deemed to constitute such claims for the time after
the first date on which the creditor could terminate such contract after monitoring began.
Section 266
Considerat ion of Lower -ranking Status
(1) Lower -ranking status of the insolvency creditors and of the creditors mentioned at
section 265 shall be taken into account only in insolvency proceedings opened before
termination of monitoring.
(2) In any such new insolvenc y proceedings such creditors shall take priority over any other
lower -ranking creditors.
Section 267
Publication of Monitoring
(1) If performance of the insolvency plan is to be monitored, this shall be published together
with the order terminating the ins olvency proceedings.
(2) Publication shall also cover:
1. in the case of s ection 260 subs ection (3) any extension of such monitoring to
the takeover company;
2. in the case of s ection 263 the criteria of transactions requiring the consent of
the insolvency administrator;
3. in the case of s ection 264 the amount of a loan ceiling.
(3) S ection 31 shall apply mutatis mutandis. If in the case of s ection 263 the right to transfer
a real estate, a registered ship, a ship under construction or an aircraft, a right in any such
object or a right in such a right is subject to restriction, s ections 32 and 33 shall apply mutatis
mutandis.
Section 268
Termination of Monitoring
(1) The insolvency court shall decide on the termination of monitoring if
1. the claims monitor ed for satisfaction have been met or their satisfaction is
ensured, or
2. three years have elapsed since termination of the insolvency proceedings and
the opening of new insolvency proceedings has not been requested.
(2) Such decision shall be published. S ection 267 subs ection (3) shall apply mutatis
mutandis.
Section 269
Costs of Monitoring
The costs of monitoring shall be borne by the debtor. In the case of s ection 260
subs ection (3), the takeover company shall bear any costs incurred for its monitoring.
Part Seven
Debtor -in-Possession Management
Section 270
Prerequisites
(1) The debtor may manage and dispose of the assets involved in insolvency proceedings
under the supervision of an insolvency monitor if the insolvency court orders such debtor -in-
possess ion management while deciding on the opening of the insolvency proceedings. Such
proceedings shall be subject to the general provisions unless this Part provides otherwise.
(2) The order shall require
1. that it has been requested by the debtor and
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Page 68 of 89 2. that no circumstances are known which lead to the expectation that the order
will place the creditors at a disadvantage.
(3) Before a decision is taken on the request, the provisional creditors' committee must be
given the opportunity to comment provided that this will not manifestly lead to a detrimental
change in the debtor's financial s tatus . If the request is backed by a unanimous decision by
the provisional creditors' committee, the order shall be deemed not to place the creditors at a
disadvantage.
(4) If the request is rejected, written grounds shall be supplied therefor ; section 27
subsection (2) no. 5 shall apply mutatis mutandis .
Section 270a
Opening Proceedings
(1) If the debtor's r equest for debtor -in-possession management does not manifestly lack the
prospect of success, the court shall in the opening proceedings refrain from
1. imposing on the debtor a general prohibition on making disposition s or
2. ordering that all of the debtor's dispositions are effective only with the consent
of a provisional insolvency administrator.
In such cases a provisional insolvency monitor shall be appointed in place of the provisional
insolvency administrator, and sections 274 and 275 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the
provisional insolvency monitor .
(2) If the debtor has filed his request for the opening of insolvency proceedings on account of
imminent insolvency and requests debtor -in-possession management management but the
court does not regard the conditions for debtor -in-possession management as being met, it
shall inform the debtor of its reservations and give the debtor the opportunity to withdraw his
request for the opening of insolvency proceedings before the decision on the opening is
taken.
Section 270b
Preparations for Reorganisation
(1) If the debtor has made his request for the opening of insolvency proceedings on account
of imminent insolvency or overindebtedness and has requested debtor -in-possession
management and if the intended restructuring does not manifestly lack the prospect of
success, the insolve ncy court shall, upon the request of the debtor, set a deadline for
submission of the insolvency plan. The deadline may not exceed three months. The debtor
shall enclose with the request certification, with grounds , provided by a tax advisor,
accountant or lawyer with experience in insolvency matters or a person with comparable
qualifications which provides evidence of the imminent insolvency or overindebtedness but
that the debtor is not already insolvent and that the intended restructuring does not
manifestly lack the prospect of success.
(2) In the order referred to in subsection (1), the court shall appoint a provisional insolvency
monitor in accordance with section 270a subsection (1) who must not be the same person
issuing the certification referred to in subsection (1). The court may decide not to appoint the
provisional insolvency monitor proposed by the debtor only if the proposed person is
manifestly not suited to taking on the office; the court shall provide reasons for its decision.
The court may order provisional measures in accordance with section 21 subsection (1) and
(2) no. 1a, 3 to 5; it must order measures in accordance with section 21 subsection (2) no. 3 if the debtor submits a request therefor.
(3) Upon the request of the debtor the court must order that the debtor provide grounds for
the debts incumbent on the estate. Section 55 subsection 2 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(4) The court shall r evoke the order in accordance with subsection (1) before the deadline
expires if
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Page 69 of 89 1. the envisaged restructuring no longer has prospects of success;
2. the provisional credi tors' committee requests that the order be revoked or
3. a creditor entitled to separate satisfaction or a creditor requests that the order
be revoked and circumstances become known that lead to the expectation that the order
will lead to the creditors being placed at a disadvantage; the request shall be admissible
only if no provisional creditors' committee has been appointed and the party filing the
appeal can show the circumstances to the satisfaction of the court.
The debtor or the provisional insolvency monitor shall immediately notify the court of the
debtor becoming insolvent. After revoking the order or after expiry of the deadline the court
shall take a decision regarding the opening of insolvency proceedings.
Section 270c
Appointment of a n Insolvency Monitor
In the event of the ordering of debtor -in-possession management , an insolvency monitor
shall be appointed instead of an insolvency administrator. The claims of the insolvency
creditors shall be filed with the insolvency monitor . Sections 32 and 33 shall not apply.
Section 271
Subsequent Order
If the major ity of the c reditors' assembly referred to in section 76 subsection (2) and the
majority of the voting creditors applies for debtor -in-possession management , the court shall
order such debtor -in-possession management if the debtor gives his consent . The former
insolvency administrator may be appointed insolvency monitor .
Section 272
Repeal of the Order
(1) The insolvency court shall repeal its decision ordering debtor -in-possession management
if requested by
1. the majority of the creditors' assembly referred to in section 76 subsection (2)
and the majority of the voting creditors ;
2. a creditor with a right to separate satis faction or by an insolvency creditor, and if
the prerequisite under s ection 270 subs ection (2) no. 2 has been removed and the party
making the request risks being placed at a significant disadvantage on account of the
debtor -in-possession management ;
3. the debtor.
(2) A creditor's request shall only be admissible if he shows the conditions set out in subsection (1) no. 2 to the satisfaction of the court. Before deciding on the request, the
insolvency court shall hear the debtor. The creditor and the debtor may bring an immediate
appeal against the decision of the court.
(3) The former insolvency monitor may be appointed as insolvency administrator.
Section 273
Publication
The decision of the insolvency court ordering the debtor -in-possession management after
the opening of insolvency proceedings, or repealing such order, shall be published.
Section 274
Legal Status of the Insolvency Monitor
(1) S ection 27 subsection (2) no. 5, section 54 no. 2, as well as s ections 56 to 60 and 62 to
65 shall apply mutatis mutandis to the insolvency monitor 's appointment, supervision by the
insolvency court, as well as to liability and remuneration.
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Page 70 of 89 (2) The insolvency monitor shall verify the debtor's economic situation and monitor the
management of his business and expenses f or his livelihood. S ection 22 subs ection (3) shall
apply mutatis mutandis.
(3) If the insolvency monitor finds circumstances suggesting disadvantages to the creditors
under the debtor's continued debtor -in-possession management, he shall disclose such
circumstances to the creditors’ committee and to the insolvency court immediately. If no
creditors' committee has been appointed, the insolvency monitor shall instead inform the
insolvency creditors who have filed claims, as well as the creditors with a right to separate
satisfaction.
Section 275
Consent of the Insolvency Monitor
(1) No obligations exceeding the range of his ordinary business may be entered into by the
debtor without the insolvency monitor 's consent. The debtor may even not enter into
obligatio ns falling under the range of his ordinary business if the insolvency monitor objects
to such obligations.
(2) The insolvency monitor may require the debtor to allow coll ection of all payments
received only by the insolvency monitor and payments to be made by the insolvency monitor
only.
Section 276
Consent of the Creditors' Committee
The debtor shall obtain the consent of the creditors' committee for transactions of particular importance to the insolvency proceedings. S ection 160 subs ection (1), second sen tence,
subs ection (2), s ection 161, second sentence, and s ection 164 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 276a
Involvement of Supervisory Organs
If the debtor is a legal entity or a company without legal personality, the supervisory board, the shareholder s' meeting or comparable organs shall have no influence on the debtor's
management. The withdrawal and appointment of new members of the board of management shall be effective only if the insolvency monitor gives his consent. That consent
must be given if the measure does not place the creditors at a disadvantage.
Section 277
Ordering the Requirement of Consent
(1) At the request of the creditors' assembly the insolvency court shall order the requirement of the insolvency monitor 's consent for certain trans actions by the debtor to become legally
effective. S ection 81 subs ection (1), second and third sentences, as well as s ection 82, shall
apply mutatis mutandis. If the insolvency monitor consents to a transaction giving rise to an
obligation incumbent on the estate, s ection 61 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(2) Such order may also be issued at the request of a creditor with a right to separate satisfaction or of an insolvency creditor if it is urgently necessary in order to prevent disadvantages to the creditors. The admissibility of such a request shall require that the
requesting party shows such prerequisite for the order to the satisfaction of the court.
(3) Such order shall be published. S ection 31 shall apply mutatis mutandis. If the right to
transfer real property, a registered ship, a ship under construction or an aircraft, a right in
such an object or a right in such a right is subjected to the requirement of consent,
sections 32 and 33 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 278
Funds for the Debtor's Li velihood
(1) The debtor may draw, from the insolvency estate, funds for himself and the family members mentioned in s ection 100 (2), second sentence, that permit the debtor a modest
livelihood with respect to his former living conditions.
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Page 71 of 89 (2) If the debtor is not a natural person, subs ection (1) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the
debtor's partners with personal liability entitled to represent him.
Section 279
Mutual Contracts
The provisions governing the performance of transactions and the cooperation of t he works
council (s ections 103 to 128) shall apply with the proviso that the insolvency administrator be
replaced by the debtor. The debtor shall exercise his rights under such provisions with the
concurrence of the insolvency monitor . The exercise of the rights under s ections 120, 122
and 126 shall require the insolvency monitor 's consent to become legally effective.
Section 280
Liability. Contest of the Debtor's Transactions in Insolvency Proceedings
Only the insolvency monitor may claim any liability to the credit of the insolvency estate
under s ections 92 and 93 and contest the debtor's transactions under s ections 129 to 147.
Section 281
Notification of Creditors
(1) The debtor shall establish the record of the insolvency estate, the record of creditors and
the survey of property (s ections 151 to 153). The insolvency monitor shall verify such
records and survey and give a written statement for each as to whether the result of his verification gives rise to objections.
(2) During the report meeting the debtor shall give the report. The insolvency monitor shall
comment on the report.
(3) Accounting (s ections 66 and 155) shall be incumbent on the debtor. Subs ection (1),
second sentence, shall apply mutatis mutandis to the debtor's final accounts.
Section 282
Disposition of Securities
(1) The insolvency administrator's right to dispose of objects subject to rights to separate satisfaction shall be vested in the debtor. However, costs for the determination of such
objects and of the rights to such objects shall not be charged. Only the costs actually arising
and necessary for the disposition and the amount of turnover tax may be counted as costs of
disposition.
(2) The debtor shall exercise his right to disposition with the concurrence of the insolvency
monitor .
Section 283
Satisfaction of the Insolvency Creditors
(1) In examining claims, in addition to the insolvency creditors the debtor and the insolvency
monitor may deny claims which have been filed. A claim contested by an insolvency creditor,
by the debtor or by the insolvency monitor shall be deemed not determined.
(2) Distributions shall be effected by the debtor. The insolvency monitor shall verify each
distribution record and give a written statement for each record as to whether the result of his verifica tion gives rise to objections.
Section 284
Insolvency Plan
(1) Any charge on the part of the creditors' assembly to establish an insolvency plan shall be directed to the insolvency monitor or the debtor. If the charge is directed to the debtor, the
insolve ncy monitor shall serve as advisor.
(2) Monitoring of implementation of the plan shall be incumbent on the insolvency monitor .
Section 285
Insufficiency of Assets
The insolvency monitor shall inform the insolvency court of the insufficiency of the assets.
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Page 72 of 89 Part Eight
Discharge of Residual Debt
Section 286
Policy
If the debtor is a natural person, he shall be discharged under s ections 287 to 303 of his
obligations not performed by way of the insolvency proceedings and due to the insolvency
creditors.
Section 287
Debtor's Request
(1) Discharge of residual debt shall require a request on the part of the debtor, which should
be joined with his request to open the insolvency proceedings. If it is not joined with the
latter, it shall be submitted within two weeks of the reference in accordance with s ection 20
subs ection (2).
(2) Such request shall be accompanied by a statement assigning the debtor's garnishable
claims to emoluments due to him on account of his employment or to emoluments replacing
them to a trustee to be appointed by the court for a period of six years following opening of
the insolvency proceedings. If the debtor had assigned or pledged such claims to a third
party already prior to his request, he shall indicate such assignment or pledge in his
statement.
(3) Agreements excluding, making dependent on a condition, or otherwise restricting the
assignment of claims on the part of the debtor to payments resulting from employment or
current payments in lieu shall be ineffective insofar as they would obstr uct or be detrimental
to the declaration of assignment pursuant to subs ection (2), first sentence.
Section 288
Right of Proposal
The debtor and the creditors may propose to the insolvency court as trustee a natural person suited to the individual case at hand.
Section 289
Decision by the Insolvency Court
(1) The insolvency creditors and the insolvency administrator shall be heard in respect of the debtor's request at the final meeting. The insolvency court shall decide by order in respect of
the debtor's request.
(2) Against such an order an immediate appeal shall be available to the debtor and any insolvency creditor requesting refusal of the discharge of residual debt at the final meeting.
The insolvency proceedings shall not be terminated before the order has become final. The
final order shall be published together with the order terminating the insolvency proceedings.
(3) If the insolvency proceedings are discontinued, discharge of residual debt may only be
granted if, after notification of the insuffici ency of the assets pursuant to s ection 209, the
insolvency estate has been distributed and the proceedings are discontinued pursuant to
section 211. Subs ection (2) shall apply with the proviso that discontinuation shall replace
termination of the proceedings.
Section 290
Refusal of Discharge of Residual Debt
(1) The order shall refuse discharge of residual debt if such refusal has been requested by an insolvency creditor at the final meeting and if
1. the debtor has received a final verdict for commission of a criminal offence
under s ections 283 to 283c of the Criminal Code (Strafgesetzbuch);
2. the debtor by wanton act or gross negligence has given a false or incomplete
statement on his economic condition in writing in the last three years prior to the request
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Page 73 of 89 to open the insolvency proceedings or subsequent to this request in order to obtain a loan
or grants from public funds or to avoid making payments to public funds;
3. the debtor has obtained discharge of residual debt in the last ten years prior to
the request to open the insolvency proceedings or subsequent to this request, or if such
request has been refused pursuant to s ection 296 or 297;
4. the debtor by wanton act or gross negligence has impaired the satisfaction of
the insolvency creditors in the last year prior to the request to open insolvency
proceedings, or subsequent to this request, by entering into inappropriate obligations, by
wasting property or by delaying the opening of the insolvency proceedings without any
expectancy of an improved economic condition;
5. the debtor by wanton act or gross negligence has infringed the obligations of
disclosure or cooperation under this Statute during the insolvency proceedings; or
6. in the lists of his property, income, creditors and claims against him, which are
to be submitted pursuant to s ection 305 subs ection (1) no. 3, the debtor has by wanton
act or gross negligence made false or incomplete statements.
(2) A creditor's request of refusal shall be admissible only if a reason why a discharge of
residual debt should be refused is shown to the satisfaction of the court.
Section 291
Notification of Discharge of Residual Debt
(1) Unless any of the conditions mentioned at s ection 290 exist, the court shall state in its
order that the debtor will achieve dis charge of his residual debt if he meets his obligations
under s ection 295 and the preconditions for refusal pursuant to s ections 297 or 298 do not
pertain.
(2) In such same order the court shall appoint the trustee in whom the debtor's garnishable emoluments will be vested in accordance with the latter's statement of assignment
(Section 287 subs ection (2)).
Section 292
Legal Status of Trustee
(1) The trustee must bring the assignment to the notice of the person obliged to pay the
emoluments. Insofar as the costs of the proceedings which have been deferred in
accordance with s ection 4a have been corrected by deducting the cost of appointing
counsel, he must keep separate the amounts received under such assignment and any other
payments contributed by the debt or or third parties from his own property and distribute them
annually to the insolvency creditors as directed by the final record. S ection 36 subs ection (1),
second sentence, and subs ection (4) shall apply mutatis mutandis. From the sums which he
receives from the assignment, as well as from the other payments, he shall pay the debtor
on expiry of a period of four years from termination of the insolvency proceedings ten per cent, and on expiry of a period of five years from termination, fifteen per cent. I f the costs of
the proceedings deferred in accordance with s ection 4a have not yet been corrected, money
shall only be transferred to the debtor if his income does not exceed the amount calculated
in accordance with s ection 115 subs ection (1) of the Code of Civil Procedure.
(2) The creditor's assembly may also charge the trustee with monitoring the debtor meeting
his obligations. In such a case the trustee shall inform the creditors immediately upon
determining an infringement of such obligations. The trust ee shall only be obliged to carry
out monitoring if the additional payment for this is either covered or advanced.
(3) The trustee shall render account to the insolvency court upon expiry of his office
Sections 58 and 59 shall apply mutatis mutandis, whils t section 59 shall, however, apply with
the proviso that any creditor of the insolvency proceedings may request dismissal of the
trustee and any creditor of the insolvency proceedings may bring an immediate appeal.
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Page 74 of 89 Section 293
Trustee' s Remuneration
(1) T he trustee shall be entitled to remuneration in consideration of his activity and to
reimbursement of appropriate expenses. Such remuneration shall take into account the time
and scope of the trustee's activity.
(2) S ection 63 subs ection (2) and s ections 64 and 65 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 294
Equal Treatment of Creditors
(1) Executions for individual insolvency creditors into the debtor's property shall be prohibited during the period of the latter's statement of assignment.
(2) Any agreement between the debtor or other persons and individual insolvency creditors
providing for the latters' advantage shall be void.
(3) Against the claim to emoluments covered by the statement of assignment the obligated
person may set off only a claim against the debtor qualifying for set -off under s ection 114
subs ection (2) if the insolvency proceedings were continued.
Section 295
Obligations of the Debtor
(1) During the period of the statement of assignment the debtor shall be obliged to
1. engage in adequate gai nful employment or, if he is unemployed, to seek such
employment and not refuse any reasonable activity;
2. transfer to the trustee half the value of property acquired by him by way of
succession or with respect to his future status as heir;
3. inform the insolvency court and the trustee immediately of any change of
residence or place of employment, not conceal any emoluments covered by the
statement of assignment or any property covered by no. 2. and disclose to the court and
the trustee at their request his gainful employment or his efforts to find such employment
as well as his emoluments and his property;
4. make payments to satisfy the insolvency creditors only to the trustee, and not
provide an individual creditor with an advantage.
(2) If the debtor i s self -employed, he shall be obliged to satisfy the insolvency creditors by
payments to the trustee as if he were in adequate employment.
Section 296
Contravention of Obligations
(1) At the request of an insolvency creditor the insolvency court shall refus e discharge of
residual debt if the debtor contravenes any of his obligations during the period of the statement of assignment and thereby impairs satisfaction of the insolvency creditors; this
shall not apply to debtors without faulty conduct. Such reques t may be filed only within one
year of the date when the creditor became aware of the contravention of an obligation. It
shall be admissible only if the facts mentioned in the first and second sentences are shown
to the satisfaction of the court.
(2) Prior to its decision on the request, the court shall hear the trustee, the debtor and the
insolvency creditors. The debtor shall provide information concerning fulfilment of his
obligations and at the request of the creditor confirm the correctness of his disc losure by an
affidavit. If without a reasonable excuse he does not provide the disclosure or the affidavit
within the deadline set for him, or does not appear at a meeting docketed by the court for
him to provide the information or the affidavit, although properly summoned and without
giving a reasonable excuse, discharge of residual debt shall be refused.
(3) The requesting party and the debtor may bring an immediate appeal against the decision.
Refusal of discharge of residual debt shall be published.
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Page 75 of 89 Section 297
Insolvency Offences
(1) At the request of a creditor in the insolvency proceedings, the insolvency court shall
refuse discharge of residual debt if in the period between the final meeting and termination of the insolvency proceedings, or during the period of the statement of assignment the debtor
received a final verdict for commission of a criminal offence under s ections 283 to 283c of
the Criminal Code.
(2) S ection 296 subs ection (1), second and third sentences, and subs ection (3) shall apply
mutatis mutandis.
Section 298
Coverage of the Trustee's Minimum Remuneration
(1) At the trustee’s request the insolvency court shall refuse discharge of residual debt if the
amounts received by him for the preceding year of his effort do not cover minimum
remuneration and if the debtor does not pay the uncovered amount although the trustee has
requested the debtor's payment in writing within a period of not less than two weeks
indicating the possibility that the debtor's discharge of residual debt may be refus ed. This
shall not apply if the costs of the insolvency proceedings were deferred in accordance with
section 4a.
(2) The debtor shall be heard prior to the decision. The court shall not refuse discharge of
residual debt if the debtor at the court's request pays the uncovered amount to the trustee
within two weeks or the amount is deferred in accordance with s ection 4a.
(3) S ection 296 subs ection (3) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 299
Expiry before Date
If discharge of residual debt is refused under s ections 296, 297 or 298, the period of the
statement of assignment, the trustee's office and any limitation of the creditors' rights shall expire as soon as the decision of the court becomes final.
Section 300
Decision on Discharge of Residual Debt
(1) If the period of the statement of assignment has expired without expiry before date, the
insolvency court shall decide by order on granting a discharge of residual debt, after hearing
the insolvency creditors, the trustee and the debtor.
(2) At the request of an insolvency creditor, under the conditions mentioned at s ection 296
subs ection (1), or subs ection (2), third sentence, or s ection 297, or at the trustee's request,
the insolvency court shall refuse discharge of residual debt under the conditions mentioned at section 298.
(3) The order shall be published. The debtor and each creditor who at the hearing referred to in subs ection (1) requested that discharge of residual debt be refused may bring an
immediate appeal against such decision.
Section 301
Effect of Discharge of Residual Debt
(1) If a discharge of residual debt is granted, it shall become binding upon all insolvency
creditors. Such binding effect shall also apply to those creditors who have not filed their
claims.
(2) The rights of the insolvency c reditors against the debtor's co- obligors and guarantors and
their rights deriving from a registered priority notice securing them or from a right entitling
them to separate satisfaction in insolvency proceedings shall remain unaffected by discharge
of res idual debt. The debtor, however, shall be discharged of claims of co- obligors,
guarantors or any other redressing party against himself in the same way as he is
discharged of the claims of the insolvency creditors.
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Page 76 of 89 (3) If a creditor without entitlement to satisfaction under discharge of residual debt is
satisfied, he shall not be held liable to restitution.
Section 302
Excepted Claims
The grant of discharge of residual debt shall leave unaffected:
1. obligations of the debtor incumbent on him under a tort c ommitted by wanton
act, insofar as the creditor had registered the corresponding claim in accordance with
section 174 subs ection (2), stating this legal reason;
2. the debtor's fines as well as his obligations equal to such fines under s ection 39
subs ectio n (1) no. 3;
3. liabilities from interest -free loans granted to the debtor to pay the costs of the
insolvency proceedings.
Section 303
Retraction of Discharge of Residual Debt
(1) At the request of an insolvency creditor, the insolvency court shall retract the grant of
discharge of residual debt if it is subsequently found that the debtor has infringed one of his
obligations by wanton act and thereby impaired the satisfaction of the insolvency creditors to
a considerable extent.
(2) Such request of a credit or shall be admissible only if it is filed within one year after the
decision on granting discharge of residual debt became final and if the creditor shows to the
satisfaction of the court that the prerequisites under subs ection (1) exist and that he was not
aware of such prerequisites before the decision of the court became final.
(3) The debtor and the trustee shall be heard prior to the decision. The requesting party and
the debtor may bring immediate appeal against such decision. The decision retracting
discharge of residual debt shall be published.
Part Nine
Consumer Insolvency Proceedings and Other Minor Proceedings
Chapter One
Scope of Application
Section 304
Policy
(1) If the debtor is a natural person who pursues or has pursued no self -employed busi ness
activity, the general provisions shall apply to the proceedings insofar as nothing else is
provided in this part. If the debtor has pursued self -employed business activity, the first
sentence shall apply if his assets are comprehensible and no claims exist against him from
employment.
(2) The assets shall be comprehensible within the meaning of subs ection (1), second
sentence, only if the debtor has fewer than twenty creditors at the time the request is made to open the insolvency proceedings.
Chapter Two
Plan for the Settlement of Debts
Section 305
Debtor's Request to open Insolvency Proceedings
(1) With the application to be filed in writing, the debtor shall submit the following with the request to open insolvency proceedings (s ection 311) or immediately subsequent to this
request:
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Page 77 of 89 1. a certificate issued by a suitable person or agency from which emerges that
within the last six months prior to the request to open insolvency proceedings an
unsuccessful attempt has been made to settle out of court with the creditors on the basis
of a plan; the plan shall be enclosed and the primary reasons for its failure shall be
explained; the Länder may determine which persons or agencies are to be regarded as
suitable;
2. the request for grant of discharge of residual debt (s ection 287), or the
declaration that discharge of residual debt is not to be applied for;
3. a record of available assets and income (record of assets), a summary of the
main content of this record (overview of the assets), a record of the credit ors and a record
of the claims against the debtor; the records and the overview of the assets shall also
include a declaration that their contents are correct and complete;
4. a plan for the settlement of debts; this may contain all provisions which are
suited to lead to an appropriate settlement of debts when account is taken of the interests
of the creditors, as well as of the debtor’s assets, income and family circumstances; the
plan shall include whether and to what extent sureties, pledges and other securities
pertaining to the creditors are to be affected by the plan.
(2) The record of claims pursuant to subs ection (1) no. 3 may also refer to enclosed
statements of claims made by the creditors. At the request of the debtor, the creditors shall
be obliged to provide the debtor with a written statement of their claims against him, at their
expense, in order to aid him in preparing the record of claims; in particular, they shall state the extent of their claims and their categorization in main claim, inter est and costs. The
request on the part of the debtor must include a reference to a request to open insolvency
proceedings which has already been filed with a court, or the filing of which is intended in the
near future.
(3) If the debtor has not submitted all the declarations and documents specified in subs ection (1), the insolvency court shall request him to supply the missing parts
immediately. If the debtor does not comply with this request within one month, his request to
open insolvency proceedings shall be regarded as having been retracted. In cases falling
under s ection 306 subs ection (3), third sentence, the period shall be three months.
(4) In the proceedings in accordance with this Chapter, the debtor may be represented
before the insolvency court by a suitable person or by a member of an agency recognized as
suitable within the meaning of subs ection (1) no. 1. S ection 174 subs ection (1), third
sentence, shall apply mutatis mutandis to the creditor's representative.
(5) In order to simplify the cons umer insolvency proceedings, by virtue of a statutory
instrument and with the approval of the Bundesrat, the Federal Ministry of Justice shall be
entitled to introduce for the persons concerned forms for the certificates, applications, lists and plans to be submitted in accordance with subs ection (1) nos. 1 to 4. Where forms are
introduced in accordance with the first sentence the debtor must use them. Different forms may be introduced for proceedings in courts that process the proceedings automatically and
for proceedings in courts that do not process the proceedings automatically.
Section 305a
Failure of Out- of-Court Debt Settlement
An attempt to reach an out -of-court agreement with the creditors regarding settlement of
debts shall be considered to have failed if a creditor requests coercive execution after the
negotiations regarding out -of-court settlement of debts have been initiated.
Section 306
Suspension of Proceedings
(1) The proceedings relating to the request to open insolvency proceedings shall be
suspended until the decision is taken on the plan for the settlement of debts. This period
shall not exceed three months. After hearing the debtor, the court shall order the
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Page 78 of 89 continuation of the proceedings regarding the request to open proceedings if in ac cordance
with his freely -formed conviction the debt settlement plan is likely not to be accepted.
(2) Subs ection (1) shall not be a hindrance to the ordering of safeguards. If the proceedings
are suspended, the debtor shall submit the number of duplicates of the debt settlement plan
and of the record of assets required for service within two weeks of being called on to do so
by the court. S ection 305 subs ection (3), second sentence, shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(3) If a creditor requests opening of proceedings, the insolvency court shall give the debtor
the opportunity prior to the decision on opening to also file a request. If the debtor files a
request, subs ection (1) shall also apply to the creditor's request. In this case, the debtor shall
initially att empt to reach an out -of-court agreement in accordance with s ection 305
subs ection (1) no. 1.
Section 307
Service on the Creditors
(1) The insolvency court shall serve on the creditors named by the debtor the plan for the
settlement of debts, as well as the overview of assets, and at the same time shall request the
creditors to comment on the records specified in s ection 305 subs ection (1) no. 3 and the
plan for the settlement of debts within a deadline of one month; the creditors shall be
informed that the records have been deposited at the insolvency court for viewing. At the
same time, with express reference to the legal consequences of s ection 308 (3), second
sentence, each creditor shall be given the opportunity to examine the information on his claims in the record of claims, which has been deposited for viewing at the insolvency court
within the period set in the first sentence and where necessary to make additions. S ection 8
subs ection (1), second and third sentences, and subs ections (2) and (3) shall not apply to
service pursuant to the first sentence.
(2) If the comment of a creditor pursuant to subs ection (1), first sentence, does not arrive at
the court within the deadline set, this shall be deemed as approval of the plan for the settlement of debts . This must be pointed out in the request for comment.
(3) Once the deadline set according to subs ection (1), first sentence, has expired, the debtor
shall be given the opportunity to amend or make additions to the plan for the settlement of
debts within a deadline to be set by the court if this is necessary on the basis of the
comments of one of the creditors or seems sensible in the interest of a mutually agreed
settlement of debts. If necessary, the amendments or additions are to be served on the
creditors. Subs ection (1), first and third sentences, and subs ection (2) shall apply mutatis
mutandis.
Section 308
Acceptance of the Plan for the Settlement of Debts
(1) If no creditor has objected to the plan for the settlement of debts, or if agreement is
replaced pursuant to s ection 309, the plan for the settlement of debts shall be deemed to be
approved; the insolvency court shall determine this by means of an order. The plan for the settlement of debts shall have the effect of a settlement within the meaning of section 794
subs ection (1) no. 1 of the Code of Civil Procedure. The creditors and the debtor shall be
served with a copy of the plan for the settlement of debts and of the order mentioned in the first sentence.
(2) The requests to open insolvency proceedings and to grant discharge of residual debt
shall be regarded as retracted.
(3) If claims are neither included in the debtor's record nor subsequently taken into account
when the plan for the settlement of debts is prepared, the creditors may demand that the
debtor comply with these claims. This shall not apply to the extent that a creditor has not
added to the information on his claim in the record of claims deposited for viewing at the insolvency court within the period set, in spite of the fact that t he plan for the settlement of
debts was sent to him and the claim had come into existence prior to expiry of the deadline; in this respect, the claim shall become void.
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Page 79 of 89 Section 309
Replacement of Approval
(1) If the plan for the settlement of debts has been approved by more than half the named
creditors, and if the total of the claims of those creditors who have given approval amounts to more than half the claims of the named creditors, at the request of a creditor or of the debtor,
the insolvency court sha ll replace the obj ections of a creditor to the plan for the settlement of
debts with agreement. This shall not apply if
1. the creditor who has raised obj ections is not taken into account to an
appropriate extent in relation to the other creditors, or
2. this creditor is likely to be placed at an economic disadvantage by the plan for
the settlement of debts in comparison to the implementation of the procedure for opening
insolvency proceedings and discharge of residual debt; in cases of doubt, the income,
assets and family circumstances of the debtor at the time of the request pursuant to the
first sentence shall be taken as the basis during the whole period of the proceedings.
(2) The creditor shall be heard prior to the decision. He must show to the satisf action of the
court the reasons which pursuant to subs ection (1), second sentence, stand in the way of
replacement of his obj ections by approval. The party making the request and the creditor
whose agreement is being replaced may bring an immediate appeal. Section 4a
subs ection (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(3) If the creditor shows to the satisfaction of the court facts giving rise to serious doubts as
to whether a claim stated by the debtor exists or comes to an amount which is higher or lower than th at stated, and if the outcome of the dispute is decisive in respect of whether the
creditor is suitably taken into account in comparison to the other creditors (subs ection (1),
second sentence, no. 1), approval of this creditor may not be replaced.
Section 310
Costs
The creditors shall have no claim on the debtor for defrayal of the costs incurred by them in connection with the plan for the settlement of debts.
Chapter Three
Simplified Insolvency Proceedings
Section 311
Initiation of the Proceedings concern ing Opening of the Insolvency Proceedings
If obj ections are raised to the plan for the settlement of debts which are not replaced by court
approval pursuant to s ection 309, the proceedings concerning opening of insolvency
proceedings shall be reopened ex officio.
Section 312
General Procedural Simplifications
(1) Public announcements shall be effected by means of excerpts; s ection 9 subs ection (2)
shall not apply. When the insolvency proceedings are opened, in contrast to what applies at
section 29, only the verification meeting shall be docketed. If the proceedings are opened at
the request of the debtor, the period named in s ection 88 shall be three months.
(2) The provisions concerning the insolvency plan (s ections 217 to 269) and on debtor -in-
possession management (s ections 270 to 285) shall not apply.
Section 313
Trustee
(1) The duties of the insolvency administrator shall be assumed by the trustee (s ection 292).
In contrast to s ection 291 subs ection (2), the latter shall be appointed when the insolvency
proceedings are opened. S ections 56 to 66 shall apply mutatis mutandis.
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Page 80 of 89 (2) It is not the trustee who is entitled to contest transactions pursuant to s ections 129 to 147
but every creditor of the insolvency proceedings. The costs incurred by the creditor are to be
refunded first from the proceeds. The creditors' assembly may commission the trustee or a
creditor to contest. If the creditors’ assembly has commissioned a creditor to contest the transaction, any costs incurred by him shall be refunded out of t he insolvency estate if they
cannot be covered from the proceeds.
(3) The trustee shall not be entitled to dispose of objects in respect of which there are pledges or other special rights. The creditor shall have the right of disposition. S ection 173
subs ection (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 314
Simplified Distribution
(1) At the request of the trustee, the insolvency court shall order waiver of disposition of the insolvency estate, either in whole or in part. In this case, it shall also instruct the debtor to
pay a sum to the trustee within a period set by the court in accordance with the value of the assets which would have had to be distributed to the insolvency creditors. The order shall not be given if disposition of the insolvency estate app ears to be necessary, particularly in
the interest of the creditors.
(2) The insolvency creditors shall be heard prior to the decision.
(3) The decision on a request on the part of the debtor for discharge of residual debt to be
granted (s ections 289 to 29 1) shall not be taken until expiry of the deadline set pursuant to
subs ection (1), second sentence. At the request of one of the insolvency creditors, the court
shall refuse to grant discharge of residual debt if the amount payable pursuant to subs ection (1), second sentence, has not been paid even subsequent to expiry of a further
deadline of two weeks set by the court with reference to the possibility of refusing to grant
discharge of residual debt. The debtor shall be heard prior to a decision being taken.
Part Ten
Special Types of Insolvency Proceeding
Chapter One
Insolvency Proceedings of a Decedent's Estate
Section 315
Local Jurisdiction
The insolvency court in whose district a decedent had his place of general jurisdiction at the time of his death sha ll have exclusive local jurisdiction for the insolvency proceedings to be
opened for his estate. If the decedent had the centre of his self -employed business activity in
a different place, the insolvency court in whose district such place is located shall have
exclusive jurisdiction.
Section 316
Admissibility of the Opening of Insolvency Proceedings
(1) The opening of the insolvency proceedings shall not be barred by the fact that the heir has not yet accepted devolution of the estate on himself or that he is subject to unlimited
liability for the obligations incumbent on the estate.
(2) If there are several heirs, the insolvency proceedings may also be opened subsequent to division of the estate.
(3) There shall be no insolvency proceedings in respect of a portion of an estate.
Section 317
Persons Entitled to Request the Opening of Proceedings
(1) The opening of the insolvency proceedings relating to a decedent's estate may be requested by any heir, by the administrator of the estate or by any other guardian, by an
executor entitled to manage the estate and by any creditor of the estate.
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Page 81 of 89 (2) If the request is not made by all heirs, it shall be admissible if the reason to open the
insolvency proceedings is shown to the satisfaction of the court. The insolvency court shall
hear the other heirs.
(3) If the administration of the estate is incumbent on an executor, the insolvency court shall hear the executor if the heir has made the request, and the heir, if the executor has made
the request, respectively.
Section 318
Entitlement to make a Request for the Joint Marital Property
(1) If the estate forms part of the joint marital property of a community, the spouse who is the
heir and the other spouse who is not the heir but who administers the joint marital property
alone or together with the other spouse may request the opening of the insolvency
proceedings relating to such estate. The consent of the other spouse shall not be required.
The spouses shall retain the right to make a request even if the community is term inated.
(2) If the request is not brought by both spouses, it shall be admissible if a reason to open insolvency proceedings is shown to the satisfaction of the court. The insolvency court shall hear the dissenting spouse.
Section 319
Request Deadline
The request of a creditor of the estate to open the insolvency proceedings shall be not
admissible if a period of two years has elapsed since the heir accepted devolution of the
estate on himself.
Section 320
Reasons for Opening
The estate's insolvency and overindebtedness shall be reasons to open the insolvency
proceedings. If the opening of the insolvency proceedings is requested by the heir, by the administrator of the estate, by a guardian or by an executor, imminent insolvency shall also
be a reason to open the insolvency proceedings.
Section 321
Execution following Succession
Measures of execution against the estate which were effected following succession shall not
entitle a creditor to separate satisfaction.
Section 322
Contestable Transactions on the Pa rt of the Heir
If the heir has satisfied claims of descendants to a compulsory portion, legacies or bequests
prior to the opening of the insolvency proceedings, such transaction may be contested in the
same manner as a gratuitous benefit granted by the hei r.
Section 323
The Heir's Expenses
The heir may not withhold satisfaction of any obligations incumbent on him because of the
expenses which are to be reimbursed to him from the estate in accordance with
sections 1978 and 1979 of the Civil Code.
Section 324
Debts Incumbent on the Estate
(1) In addition to the debts mentioned at s ections 54 and 55 the following debts shall be
deemed as debts incumbent on the estate:
1. expenses to be reimbursed to the heir from the estate in accordance with
sections 1978 and 1979 of the Civil Code;
2. the costs of the decedent's funeral;
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Page 82 of 89 3. costs incumbent on the estate incurred for the proceedings to have the
decedent's death declared;
4. costs incurred for the disclosure of the decedent's will, for the estate's judicial
arrestment, for the guardianship of such estate, for the offer to the creditors of the estate
to file their claims and for the establishment of an inventory;
5. obligations under transactions made by the estate's guardian or by an executor;
6. obligations incurred in the management of the estate by its guardian, by an
executor or by an heir who has not accepted the devolution of the estate on himself
incumbent on the heir to the extent that such obligations would be incumbent on the
creditors of the estate upon the designated persons' management of affairs on their
behalf.
(2) In the case of insufficiency of assets, the obligations mentioned at subs ection (1) shall
have the rank specified under s ection 209 subs ection (1) no. 3.
Section 325
Obligations Incumbent on the Estate
In insolvency proceedings opened for an estate only the obligations incumbent on the estate
may be claimed.
Section 326
The Heir's Claims
(1) The heir may claim his rights entitling him against the decedent.
(2) If the heir has performed an obligation incumbent on the estate, and if his performance is
not deemed as having been made for the account of the estate under s ection 1979 of the
Civil Code, he shall replace the creditor unless he is subject to unlimited liability to the
obligations inc umbent on the estate.
(3) If the heir has unlimited liability to an individual creditor, he may claim the creditor's right if
the creditor does not claim it.
Section 327
Lower -ranking Obligations
(1) The following shall be satisfied as obligations ranking below the obligations mentioned at
section 39, in the following order, and equal -ranking obligations in proportion to their amount:
1. obligations towards descendants entitled to a compulsory portion;
2. obligations under the legacies and bequests ordered by the decedent in his will.
(2) A legacy excluding the legal entitlement of a descendant under s ection 2307 of the Civil
Code shall rank among the legal entitlements of descendants as far as it does not exceed
such legal entitlement. If the decedent has ordered in his will the satisfaction of a legacy or
bequest prior to another legacy or bequest, such legacy or bequest shall prevail.
(3) An obligation whose creditor has been excluded under the proceedings offering the
creditors of the estate to file their claims or ranking among the excluded creditors under
section 1974 of the Civil Code shall be satisfied only after the obligations mentioned at
section 39 and, if it forms part of the obligations under subs ection (1), after the obligations
with which it wo uld have been identical. In other respects, such restrictions shall not affect
the order of claims.
Section 328
Restituted Objects
(1) Any object restituted to the insolvency estate due to contest of the transaction made by
the decedent or made with respec t to him may not be used for satisfaction of the obligations
mentioned at s ection 327 subs ection (1).
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Page 83 of 89 (2) Any property to be reimbursed to the insolvency estate by the heir under s ections 1978 to
1980 of the Civil Code may only be claimed by creditors excl uded under the proceedings
offering the creditors of the estate to file their claims or ranking among the excluded creditors
under s ection 1974 of the Civil Code to the extent to which the heir would be liable to
restitution of such property under the prov isions governing the restitution of an unjust
enrichment.
Section 329
Revisionary Succession
Sections 323, 324 subs ection (1) no. 1 and 326 subs ections (2) and (3) shall also apply to a
limited heir after the revisionary heir has succeeded to the decedent' s estate.
Section 330
Purchase of a Decedent's Estate
(1) If the heir has sold the decedent's estate, he shall be replaced by the purchaser for the insolvency proceedings.
(2) The heir may request the opening of the insolvency proceedings like a creditor of the
decedent's estate with respect to an obligation incumbent on the decedent's estate which is
incumbent on the purchaser under his contractual relationship with the heir. The heir shall
have the same right with respect to another obligation incumbent on the decedent's estate
unless the heir is subject to unlimited liability or administration of the estate was ordered.
Sections 323, 324 subs ection (1) no. 1 and 326 shall also apply to the heir subsequent to the
latter's sale of the decedent's estate.
(3) Subs ections (1) and (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis to cases where a person has sold
an estate acquired by means of a contract, or in some other way obligated himself to sell an
estate acquired by him by law or in another way.
Section 331
Simultaneous In solvency of the Heir
(1) In the insolvency proceedings concerning the property of the heir, if insolvency
proceedings have also been opened in respect of the estate or if administration of the estate
is ordered, s ections 52, 190, 192, 198 and 237 subs ectio n (1), second sentence, shall apply
mutatis mutandis to creditors to the estate regarding whom the heir has unlimited liability.
(2) The same shall apply if a spouse is the heir and the estate is part of the joint marital
property which is administered sol ely by the other spouse, also in insolvency proceedings
relating to the property of the other spouse and, if the joint marital property is administered jointly by the spouses, also in insolvency proceedings relating to the joint marital property
and in ins olvency proceedings relating to other property of the spouse who is not the heir.
Chapter Two
Insolvency Proceedings relating to the
Joint Marital Property of a Continued Community
Section 332
Referral to Insolvency Proceedings opened for an Estate
(1) In the case of continued community, s ections 315 to 331 shall apply mutatis mutandis to
the insolvency proceedings relating to the joint property.
(2) Only those creditors whose claims existed as obligations on the joint property when
continued community was established shall be creditors to the insolvency proceedings.
(3) Descendants with partial entitlement shall not be entitled to request the opening of
proceedings. They shall, however, be heard by the insolvency court in the case of a request
to open proceedings.
Chapter Three
Insolvency Proceedings relating to the
Jointly Administered Marital Property of a Community
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Page 84 of 89 Section 333
Right to file a Request. Grounds for Opening Proceedings
(1) Any creditor who can demand fulfilment of an obligation from the joint property shall be
entitled to request the opening of insolvency proceedings in relation to the joint property administered jointly by the spouses.
(2) Any spouse shall also be entitled to file a request. If the request is not filed by both
spouses, it shall be admissible if the insolvency of the joint property is shown to the
satisfaction of the court; the insolvency court shall hear the other spouse. If the request is
filed by both spouses, imminent insolvency shall also constitute grounds for opening
proceedings.
Section 334
Personal Liability of the Spouses
(1) During the insolvency proceedings, personal liability of the spouses for obligations the fulfilment of which can be demanded from the joint property may be claimed only by the
insolvency administ rator or insolvency monitor .
(2) In the case of an insolvency plan, s ection 227 subs ection (1) shall apply mutatis mutandis
to the personal liability of the spouses.
Part Eleven
International Insolvency Law
Chapter One
General Provisions
Section 335
Policy
Unless otherwise provided, the insolvency proceedings and their effects shall be subject to the law of the state in which the proceedings have been opened.
Section 336
Contract on an Immovable
The effects of the insolvency proceedings on a contract relati ng to a right in rem in an
immovable object or a right to use an immovable object shall be subject to the law of the
state in which the object is situated. With an article entered in the register of ships and the
register of ships under construction, as well as in the register of liens on aircraft, the law of the state under whose supervision the register is kept shall be relevant.
Section 337
Employment
The effects of the insolvency proceedings on employment shall be subject to the law which is relevant to the employment in accordance with Regulation (EC) No 593/2008 of the
European Parliament and of the Council of 17 Jun e 2008 on the law applicable to contractual
obligations (Rome I) ( OJ EC L 177 of 4.7.2008, p. 6).
Section 338
Set-off
The right of an inso lvency creditor to set off shall remain unaffected by the opening of
insolvency proceedings if in accordance with the law applicable to the debtor's claim he is
entitled to set off at the time of opening the insolvency proceedings.
Section 339
Contest of T ransactions in Insolvency Proceedings
A transaction may be contested if the preconditions for contesting insolvency are met in
accordance with the law of the state of the opening of proceedings unless the opponent of
the contest demonstrates that the law of another state is relevant for the transaction and the
transaction is by no means contestable in accordance with this law.
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Page 85 of 89 Section 340
Organized Markets. Pension Transactions
(1) The effects of the insolvency proceedings on the rights and duties of partic ipants in an
organized market in accordance with s ection 2 subs ection (5) of the Securities Trading Act
(Wertpapierhandelsgesetz) shall be subject to the law of the state which applies to this
market.
(2) The effects of insolvency proceedings on pension tr ansactions within the meaning of
section 340b of the Commercial Code as well as on novation contracts and set -off
agreements shall be subject to the law of the state which applies to these contracts.
(3) Subs ection (1) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the p articipants in a system within the
meaning of s ection 1 subs ection (16) of the Banking Act (Kreditwesengesetz).
Section 341
Exercising Creditor Rights
(1) Each creditor can register his claims in the main insolvency proceedings and in each set
of secondary insolvency proceedings.
(2) The insolvency administrator shall be entitled to register a claim in the proceedings to
which he is appointed in other insolvency proceedings regarding the debtor's assets. The
right of the creditor to reject or withdraw the r egistration shall remain unaffected thereby.
(3) The administrator shall be deemed to have been empowered to exercise the voting right
from a claim registered in the proceedings to which he has been appointed in another set of
insolvency proceedings regarding the assets of the debtor unless the creditor determines
otherwise.
Section 342
Return. Imputation
(1) If an insolvency creditor by execution, by a payment on the part of the debtor or in
another manner gains something at the expense of the insolvency estate from the assets
which are not situated in the state of the opening of proceedings, he shall return what he has
obtained to the insolvency administrator. The provisions on the legal consequences of
unjustified enrichment shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(2) The insolvency creditor may retain what he has obtained in insolvency proceedings which
have been opened in another state. He shall, however, not be accommodated in the distributions until the other creditors have the same rank.
(3) The insolvency cred itor shall provide information on what he has obtained on request by
the insolvency administrator.
Chapter Two
Foreign Insolvency Proceedings
Section 343
Recognition
(1) The opening of foreign insolvency proceedings shall be recognized. This shall not appl y
1. if the courts of the state of the opening of proceedings do not have jurisdiction in
accordance with German law;
2. where recognition leads to a result which is manifestly incompatible with major
principles of German law, in particular where it is inc ompatible with basic rights.
(2) Subs ection (1) shall apply mutatis mutandis to preservation measures taken after the
request for the opening of insolvency proceedings, as well as to judgments handed down to
implement or terminate recognized insolvency proceedings.
Section 344
Preservation Measures
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Page 86 of 89 (1) If a provisional administrator has been appointed abroad prior to opening of main
insolvency proceedings, at his request the insolvency court with jurisdiction may order the
measures in accordance with s ectio n 21 which appear necessary to preserve the assets
covered by domestic secondary insolvency proceedings.
(2) The provisional administrator may also bring an immediate appeal against the order.
Section 345
Publication
(1) If the preconditions for recognition of opening of the proceedings apply, the insolvency
court shall on request by the foreign insolvency administrator publish the notice of the judgment on the opening of the proceedings and the judgment on the appointment of the
insolvency administrator on domestic territory. S ection 9 subs ections (1) and (2) and
section 30 subs ection (1), first sentence, shall apply mutatis mutandis. If the opening of the
insolvency proceedings has been published, termination shall be published in the same way.
(2) If the debtor has a registered office on domestic territory, public notice shall be effected
ex officio. The insolvency administrator or a permanent representative in accordance with section 13e subs ection (2), fifth sentence, no. 3 of the Commercial Code shall i nform the
insolvency court having jurisdiction in accordance with s ection 348 subs ection (1).
(3) The application shall only be admissible if it can be substantiated that the actual preconditions for recognition of opening the proceedings apply. The admini strator shall be
provided with a copy of the order by means of which publication is ordered. The foreign
administrator may bring an immediate appeal against the judgment of the insolvency court
with which publication is rejected.
Section 346
Land Register
(1) If by opening the proceedings or by ordering preservation measures in accordance with section 343 subs ection (2) or s ection 344 subs ection (1) the debtor's right to transfer is
restricted, the insolvency court shall on request by the foreign insolvency administrator
request the Land Registry to enter the opening of the insolvency proceedings and the nature
of the restriction of the debtor's right to transfer in the land register:
1. for any parcel of real estate with the debtor registered as owner;
2. for the debtor's registered rights to real estate or to registered rights if the type
of such rights and the circumstances give rise to the suspicion that the insolvency
creditors would be placed at a disadvantage without such entry.
(2) The application in accordance with subs ection (1) shall only be admissible if it can be
substantiated that the actual preconditions for the recognition of opening of the proceedings
apply. The foreign administrator may bring an immediate appeal against the judgment of the
insolvency court. S ection 32 subs ection (3), first sentence, shall apply mutatis mutandis to
deletion of the entry.
(3) Subs ections (1) and (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the entry of the opening of the
proceedings in the register of ships, the register of ships under construction and the register
of liens on aircraft.
Section 347
Proof of Appointment of the Administrator. Notification of the Court
(1) The foreign insolvency administrator shall prove his appointment by a certified duplicate
of the judgment by means of which he has been appointed or by means of another certificate
issued by the competent agency. The insolvency court may require a translation, which shall
be certified by a person empowered to do so in the state of the opening of proceedings .
(2) The foreign insolvency administrator who has made a request in accordance with
sections 344 to 346 shall inform the insolvency court of all essential changes in the foreign
proceedings and of all further foreign insolvency proceedings known to him relating to the
assets of the debtor.
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Page 87 of 89 Section 348
Insolvency Court with Jurisdiction . Cooperation between In solvency Courts
(1) For the judgments in accordance with s ections 344 to 346 the insolvency court shall have
exclusive jurisdiction in whose district the registered office or, if there is no registered office,
assets of the debtor are situated. S ection 3 subs ection (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
(2) If the conditions for recognition of foreign insolvency proceedings are met or clarification
is requir ed regarding whether thos e conditions are met, the insolvency court may cooperate
with the foreign insolvency court, in particular when it comes to passing on information of
importance in the foreign proceedings .
(3) The governments of the Länder shall be empowered for the purposes of expedient
furtherance or expedited conduct of proceedings to allocate by means of a statutory
instrument the judgments in accordance with s ections 344 to 346 for the districts of several
insolvency courts to one of these for a ruling. The governments of the Länder may delegate
such power to the judicial administrations of the Länder.
(4) The Länder may agree that the judgments in accordance with s ections 344 to 346 are
allocated for several Länder to the courts of one Land. If a request in accordance with
sections 344 to 346 is received by a court not having jurisdiction, the latter shall forward the
request without delay to the court with jurisdiction and shall inform the person filing the request thereof.
Section 349
Disposal of Immovables
(1) If the debtor has disposed of an object of the insolvency estate which is registered on domestic territory in the land register, register of ships, the register of ships under
construction or in the register of liens on aircraft, or of a right in such an object, s ections 878,
892 and 893 of the Civil Code, s ection 3 subs ection (3), s ections 16 and 17 of the Act
Governing Rights in Registered Ships and Ships under Construction and s ection 5
subs ection (3), as well as s ections 16 and 17 of t he Act Governing Rights in Aircraft shall
apply.
(2) If to preserve a claim on domestic territory a priority notice has been entered in the land register, register of ships, the register of ships under construction or the register of liens on
aircraft, s ection 106 shall remain unaffected.
Section 350
Performance in Favour of the Debtor
If the debtor received performance on domestic territory to settle an obligation although such
obligation had to be performed to the credit of the insolvency estate of the foreign insolvency
proceedings, the performing party shall be discharged of his obligation if he was unaware of
the opening of the proceedings at the time of his performance. If such party performed his obligation prior to publication in accordance with s ection 345, he shall be presumed to have
been unaware of the opening of the proceedings.
Section 351
Rights in Rem
(1) The right of a third party in an object of the insolvency estate which at the time of opening of the foreign insolvency proceedings was situ ated on domestic territory, and which in
accordance with domestic law grants a right to separation or to separate satisfaction shall remain unaffected by the opening of the foreign insolvency proceedings.
(2) The effects of the foreign insolvency proceedings on rights of the debtor in immovables
situated on domestic territory shall, notwithstanding s ection 336, second sentence, be
determined in accordance with German law.
Section 352
Interruption and Joinder of an Action
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Page 88 of 89 (1) By opening foreign insolvency pr oceedings, an action shall be interrupted which is
pending at the time of opening and concerns the insolvency estate. The interruption shall
continue until the action is joindered by a person who in accordance with the law of the state
of the opening of pr oceedings is entitled to continue the action, or until the insolvency
proceedings have been terminated.
(2) Subs ection (1) shall apply mutatis mutandis if the right to manage and transfer the
debtor's assets is assigned to a provisional insolvency administ rator by virtue of the ordering
of preservation measures in accordance with s ection 343 subs ection (2).
Section 353
Enforceability of Foreign Judgments
(1) On the basis of a judgment handed down in foreign insolvency proceedings, execution
shall take place only if its admissibility is pronounced by an execution judgment. S ection 722
subs ection (2) and s ection 723 subs ection (1) of the Code of Civil Procedure shall apply
mutatis mutandis.
(2) Subs ection (1) shall apply mutatis mutandis to the preservation measures named in
section 343 subs ection (2).
Chapter Three
Territorial Insolvency Proceedings relating to Domestic Assets
Section 354
Preconditions for Territorial Insolvency Proceedings
(1) If a German court does not have jurisdiction to open insolvency pr oceedings relating to all
the assets of the debtor, but the debtor, however, has a registered office or other assets on
domestic territory, on request from a creditor, separate insolvency proceedings shall be
permissible with regard to the domestic assets of the debtor (territorial insolvency
proceedings).
(2) If the debtor has no registered office on domestic territory, the request of a creditor to
open territorial insolvency proceedings shall only be admissible if the latter has a particular
interest in opening the proceedings, in particular if he is likely to fare much worse in foreign
proceedings than in domestic proceedings. The particular interest is to be substantiated by
the person filing the request.
(3) For the proceedings, the insolvency court shall have exclusive jurisdiction in whose
district the registered office or, if there is no registered office, assets of the debtor are
situated. S ection 3 subs ection (2) shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 355
Discharge of Residual Debt. Insolvency Plan
(1) The proceedings on discharge of residual debt shall not apply in territorial insolvency
proceedings.
(2) An insolvency plan in which a suspension, a waiver or other restrictions on the rights of
the creditors is provided for may only be approved in thes e proceedings if all the creditors
concerned have agreed to the plan.
Section 356
Secondary Insolvency Proceedings
(1) Recognition of foreign main insolvency proceedings shall not exclude secondary insolvency proceedings relating to domestic assets. S ectio ns 357 and 358 shall additionally
apply to the secondary insolvency proceedings.
(2) The foreign insolvency administrator shall also be entitled to open the secondary
insolvency proceedings.
(3) The proceedings shall be opened without the need to determine a reason for opening.
Section 357
Cooperation between the Insolvency Administrators
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Page 89 of 89 (1) The insolvency administrator shall inform the foreign administrator without delay of all
circumstances which may be significant for the implementation of the foreign proceedings.
He shall afford the foreign administrator the opportunity to submit proposals for the
disposition or other use of the domestic assets.
(2) The foreign administrator shall be entitled to attend the creditors' assemblies.
(3) An insolvency plan s hall be forwarded to the foreign administrator for a statement. The
foreign administrator shall be entitled to submit his own plan. S ection 218 subs ection (1),
second and third sentences, shall apply mutatis mutandis.
Section 358
Surplus Resulting from Fin al Distribution
If the full amount of all claims can be satisfied in final distribution in the secondary
insolvency, the insolvency administrator shall transfer any remaining surplus to the foreign
administrator of the main insolvency proceedings.
Part Twe lve
Entry into Force
Section 359
Referral to Introductory Act
This Statute shall enter into force on the day determined by means of the Introductory Act to the Insolvency Statute (Einführungsgesetz zur Insolvenzordnung).
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