How does the Bankruptcy System Provide Protection for Distressed Enterprises (Part II)
Introduction
The above article briefly discusses how bankruptcy system protects enterprises (debtors) in debt crisis from the perspective of enterprise (debtors) 's claims and debts. This article will make a simple analysis from the perspective of enterprise (debtor) litigation, enforcement including suspension of litigation and arbitration, suspension of execution and lifting of property preservation measures, and lifting of legal representative and other restrictions on high consumption measures.
一、Without the declaration of creditor's rights, it shall not directly bring a lawsuit to confirm creditor's rights and the litigation or arbitration that has been accepted shall be suspended
According to Article 110 [1] of the "Nine Min Ji", the court will not accept a lawsuit for repayment filed after the bankruptcy is accepted, and at the same time inform creditors that they should declare their claims to the administrator. That is, after the enterprise (debtor) is judged to accept bankruptcy, the creditor can only be realized by declaring the creditor's rights, but not by litigation. As mentioned above, the bankruptcy procedure is a general collective settlement of the legal procedure for the liquidation of bankruptcy claims, after the enterprise (debtor) is accepted for bankruptcy, all claims should be paid through the bankruptcy procedure, creditors can not separately file a lawsuit to require the enterprise (debtor) to pay.
If the enterprise (debtor) is accepted before bankruptcy, creditors filed a lawsuit or arbitration has been accepted, according to Article 20 of the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law: "After the people's court accepts the bankruptcy application, the civil litigation or arbitration concerning the debtor that has begun but not yet concluded shall be suspended", and after the administrator takes over the property of the enterprise (debtor), the litigation or arbitration shall continue, and the administrator shall respond on behalf of the company on a unified basis, and the administrator is usually a law firm with rich litigation experience.
To sum up, after the enterprise (debtor) is accepted for bankruptcy, the litigation and arbitration cases that have been accepted will be temporarily suspended, and the bankruptcy representative will take over; Creditors who have not filed lawsuits or arbitration should be unified through the bankruptcy process to claim their rights, so as to free companies (debtors) from derivative litigation disputes caused by debt crises.
二、Suspension of execution and rescission of property preservation measures
According to Article 19 of the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law, "After the people's court has accepted the bankruptcy application, the relevant measures for the preservation of the debtor's property shall be dissolved and the enforcement procedure shall be suspended." The accounts frozen by the enterprise (debtor) due to litigation can be lifted and preserved, and all execution actions should be suspended. In addition, Article 7 [2] and Article 22 [3] of the Judicial Interpretation of the Bankruptcy Law II make it clear that the relevant units that have taken preservation measures for the debtor's property shall terminate the property preservation measures after the debtor is ruled to enter bankruptcy proceedings, and the cases that have taken effect but have not been implemented shall declare the creditor's rights to the administrator.
As far as the author is concerned, after the manager takes over the enterprise (debtor), it usually sends a letter of rescinding the property preservation measures to the court that has adopted the property preservation measures, asking for rescinding the property preservation measures of the enterprise (debtor), such as bank accounts, vehicles, and real estate, and the court that has adopted the property preservation measures usually rescinding the property preservation measures within 1-2 weeks of receiving the letter.
In addition, in practice, an enterprise (debtor) is ordered to enter bankruptcy proceedings, but the court still executes the enterprise (debtor) property. According to the provisions of Article 5 [4] of the Judicial Interpretation of the Second Chapter of the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law, the property that has been executed shall be corrected by the relevant unit that has taken enforcement measures, and the property that has been executed shall be recovered through the execution reversal procedure.
In summary, all property belonging to the enterprise (debtor) at the time of acceptance of the bankruptcy application and property acquired by the debtor after acceptance of the bankruptcy application until the conclusion of the bankruptcy proceedings are property of the enterprise (debtor). Enforcement courts or other institutions have no right to take property preservation measures or enforcement, creditors can only through the bankruptcy proceedings to declare claims for repayment.
三、Restrictions on high consumption such as the removal of legal representatives
The enterprise (debtor) has usually been enforced by multiple courts before entering bankruptcy proceedings, and the legal representative of the enterprise is often included in the list of restricted high consumption by the enforcement court. After entering the bankruptcy procedure, the legal representative of the enterprise can apply for lifting the height limit measures, but there is a dispute about the time to apply for lifting the height limit.One view is that as long as the court accepts the enterprise (debtor) into bankruptcy proceedings, the legal representative of the enterprise (debtor) can apply for lifting the height limit measures; Another view is that only the enterprise (debtor) declares bankruptcy and the execution procedure ends can the legal representative and other measures be lifted.
(一)If the court accepts the bankruptcy of the enterprise (debtor), the legal representative of the enterprise (debtor) can apply for lifting the height limit measures.
According to Article 19 of the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law, after an enterprise enters bankruptcy proceedings as the person subject to enforcement, the enforcement court shall rule that there is no dispute regarding the suspension of execution of the person subject to enforcement, and that the person subject to enforcement is included in the list of persons subject to enforcement for breach of trust due to the restriction of consumption of the legal representative of the person subject to enforcement due to his inability to fulfill the obligations determined by effective legal documents. Therefore, after the person subject to enforcement is removed from the list of persons subject to enforcement for breach of trust because of bankruptcy proceedings, the consumption restriction on the legal representative of the person subject to enforcement for breach of trust should be lifted. [5]
Practical case:Xi 'an Intermediate People's Court has issued the "(2020) Shaanxi 01 break No. 4 of the eighth Notice" clearly: The court ruled on December 13, 2019 to accept the bankruptcy liquidation case of the applicant Dong Ivan and the respondent Xi 'an Micro Nano Sensor Research Institute Co., LTD... The civil enforcement procedures, property preservation measures and deletion of untrustworthy information concerning the debtor Xi 'an Weina Sensor Research Institute Co., Ltd. are hereby notified as follows: In accordance with Article 19 of the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law of the People's Republic of China, which stipulates that "after the people's Court accepts the bankruptcy application, the preservation measures relating to the debtor's property shall be terminated and the enforcement procedure shall be suspended", you are requested to suspend the civil enforcement procedure with the debtor Xi 'an Weina Sensor Research Institute Co., Ltd. as the person subject to execution. And inform creditors to declare claims directly to the insolvency representative of Xi 'an Micro Nano Sensor Research Institute Co., Ltd. with effective legal documents. The relevant units that have taken preservation measures for the property of the debtor Xi 'an Micro-nano Sensor Research Institute Co., Ltd. shall, in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 of the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law, promptly terminate the preservation measures for the property of the debtor Xi 'an Micro-Nano Sensor Research Institute Co., LTD. In accordance with Article 10 of the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Publishing Information on the List of Persons subject to Enforcement for Dishonesty: "In any of the following circumstances, the people's court shall delete the dishonest information within three working days:... (5) Because of trial supervision or bankruptcy proceedings, the people's court has ordered the suspension of execution of the person subject to enforcement for breach of trust according to law..." The regulations of... Please delete the dishonest information of Xi 'an Micro Nano Sensor Research Institute Co., Ltd. and the company's legal representative and shareholders. We hereby inform you.
(二)Only after the court declares the bankruptcy of the enterprise (debtor) and the execution procedure is concluded can the height restriction measures such as the legal representative be lifted
According to Article 515 (1) [6] of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China, and Article 61 [7] of the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Enforcement Work of the People's Courts, where the people's court of the place where the person subject to enforcement has his domicile makes a ruling declaring the person subject to enforcement bankrupt, The enforcement court shall rule to terminate the execution of the person subject to enforcement, and then lift the legal representative and other measures to restrict high consumption.
Practical case:"Wenling Zeguo Branch of Zhejiang Mintai Commercial Bank Co., LTD., Yangzhou Huidu Home Textile Co., LTD., Other cases by the execution of the review of the execution of the ruling [Taizhou Intermediate People's Court (2019) Zhejiang 10 Jiefu 12]" clearly: The focus of the dispute involved in the case is whether the consumption restriction measures should be lifted after the enterprise subject to enforcement of restricted consumption enters the bankruptcy procedure until the bankruptcy is declared. First of all, restricting the high consumption of the person subject to execution and the relevant consumption that is not necessary for life or business is an important measure for the people's court to give credit punishment to the person subject to execution... If the company is only in bankruptcy proceedings, it is not a legal reason for lifting the consumption restriction order. Secondly, according to Article 105 of the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues concerning the Execution of the People's Courts, where the person subject to execution is declared bankrupt by the people's Court, the execution court shall rule to terminate the execution. Article 515 (1) of the Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China stipulates that "If the people's court of the place where the person subject to enforcement has his domicile rules to accept a bankruptcy case, the enforcement court shall lift the preservation measures for the person subject to enforcement's property." If the people's court of the place where the person subject to enforcement has his domicile rules to declare the person subject to enforcement bankrupt, the enforcement court shall rule to terminate the execution of the person subject to enforcement." The above provisions take the ruling to declare bankruptcy as the condition for the termination of execution, because after the bankruptcy court accepts the bankruptcy application until the bankruptcy is declared, the debtor enterprise that is the subject of execution still has the possibility to withdraw from the bankruptcy proceedings, and once the bankruptcy proceedings are withdrawn, the execution proceedings against the subject may be resumed. Therefore, what should be lifted is the preservation measures of the property of the person subject to execution, so that the bankruptcy proceedings can proceed normally, and the consumption restriction measures that do not affect the normal proceeding of the bankruptcy proceedings are not necessarily lifted.If the bankruptcy court has ruled that the executed enterprise is bankrupt, the enterprise will definitely enter the bankruptcy liquidation procedure, and the execution court shall rule to terminate the execution of the executed person. Upon termination of enforcement, all enforcement measures taken, including the restriction of consumption order, shall be lifted..."
In summary, if the legal representative of an enterprise (debtor) is listed as the person subject to enforcement for breach of trust and is taken to restrict high consumption measures, the measures to restrict high consumption can be lifted eventually through the bankruptcy procedure, but there is a dispute at the time of application, but it does not affect the final result.
Summary: For enterprises (debtors) caught in debt crisis, bankruptcy system can give enterprises (debtors) comprehensive protection: first, the main debt and secured debt of enterprises (debtors) to stop interest; Second, all debts of enterprises (debtors) can be paid off in general through bankruptcy procedures; Third, the large amount of receivables existing in the enterprise (debtor) can also be recovered through the bankruptcy administrator (professional intermediary) to perform their duties; Fourth, all litigation and arbitration proceedings are suspended, and creditors can only claim claims through bankruptcy proceedings; Fifth, the property preservation measures involving enterprises (debtors) are lifted and the enforcement procedures are suspended, and all institutions shall not dispose of the assets of enterprises (debtors); Sixth, if the legal representative of the enterprise (debtor) is taken to limit high consumption measures due to the execution of the enterprise (debtor) case, it can be lifted through the bankruptcy procedure.
[1]Article 11 of the Notice of the Supreme People's Court on the issuance of the Minutes of the National Court's Civil and Commercial Trial Work Conference: "After the people's Court has accepted the bankruptcy application, the people's court shall not accept the new civil lawsuit filed by the creditor to require the debtor to pay off, and at the same time inform the creditor that it shall declare its creditor's rights to the administrator." After the creditor has declared his claims, if there is an objection to the list of claims prepared by the administrator, he may file an action for the confirmation of claims in accordance with Article 58 of the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law."
[2]Article 7 of the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues concerning the Application of the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law of the People's Republic of China (II) provides that: "Relevant units that have taken preservation measures for the debtor's property shall, upon learning that the people's Court has ruled to accept the bankruptcy application of the relevant debtor, promptly terminate the preservation measures for the debtor's property in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 of the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law."
[3] Article 22 of the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues Concerning the Application of the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law of the People's Republic of China (II) stipulates: "Before the bankruptcy application is accepted, where the creditor files a lawsuit against the debtor's property in the people's court as set out in the first paragraph of Article 21 of these Provisions, and the people's court has made an effective civil judgment or mediation statement but has not completed the execution, after the bankruptcy application is accepted, the relevant execution shall be suspended in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 of the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law." The creditor shall declare the relevant creditor's rights to the manager in accordance with the law."
[4] Article 5 of the Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues relating to the Application of the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law of the People's Republic of China (II) provides that: "After the acceptance of the bankruptcy application, if the execution procedure concerning the debtor's property is not suspended in accordance with the provisions of Article 19 of the Enterprise Bankruptcy Law, the relevant unit that has taken enforcement measures shall correct it according to law." The people's court shall identify the property of the debtor as the property of the debtor."
[5] Public number: Bankruptcy Law News, "Han Chuanhua: Should the restriction on consumption of legal Representatives after enterprise bankruptcy be lifted?"
[6] "Interpretation of the Supreme People's Court on the Application of the Civil Procedure Law of the People's Republic of China" Article 515 (1) Where the people's court of the place where the person subject to enforcement has his domicile rules to accept the bankruptcy case, the enforcement court shall lift the preservation measures for the person subject to enforcement's property. If the people's court of the place where the person subject to enforcement has his domicile rules to declare the person subject to enforcement bankrupt, the enforcement court shall rule to terminate the execution of the person subject to enforcement.
[7] "Provisions of the Supreme People's Court on Several Issues concerning the Execution of the People's Courts" Article 61 In the course of execution, if the person subject to execution is declared bankrupt by a ruling of the People's Court, the execution court shall rule to terminate the execution in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 6 of Article 257 of the Civil Procedure Law.