(Another) Bankruptcy Legislation reform - functionalization of bankruptcy legal protection or placebo effect?

Abstract

Rad obrađuje trenutno najaktualniju temu iz područja građanskopravne kolektivne zaštite. Naime, reformama Stečajnog zakona (njih sedam) kao i implementacijom Zakona o financijskom poslovanju i predstečajnoj nagodbi (s tri izmjene), čija je primjena počela tijekom 2012., hrvatsko insolvencijsko zakonodavstvo značajno je izmijenjeno. Ipak, indikativna metoda utvrđivanja činjenica pokazuje kako su stečajni i predstečajni postupci u odnosu na druge države u okruženju nešto kraći, ali su skuplji i s nižim stupanjem namirenja vjerovnika. Naravno, u odnosu na zemlje s razvijenim stečajnim sustavom, ovi pokazatelji su relativno lošiji. Uzimajući u obzir da na takve podatke pored samih zakonskih rješenja utječu i brojni izvansudski (institucionalni) čimbenici (nepovoljan društveni kontekst, problemi u platnom prometu, nezavidno stanje u domenu evidencije nekretnina i pokretnina, nedovoljan broj sudaca kojima je bilo povjereno vođenje stečajnog postupka, slaba obučenost stečajnih upravitelja, neadekvatni način njihovog financiranja i posljedično slaba motiviranost za rad), zakonodavac planira napraviti još jednu funkcionalizaciju Stečajnog zakona preuzimajući, nakon dvogodišnjeg eksperimentiranja iz Zakona o financijskom poslovanju i predstečajnoj nagodbi, odredbe o predstečajnoj nagodbi te vraćajući mnoge opcije u izradi stečajnog plana. Svakako smatramo bitnim istaknuti kako prostor koji ovdje imamo, ne dopušta detaljnu raščlambu ove problematike, pa smo prinuđeni ograničiti se isključivo, po mišljenju autora, na neke aspekte nove stečajne regulative. Ovaj rad je nastao u potporu Hrvatske zaklade za znanost u okviru projekta 6558 "Business and Personal Insolvency - the Ways to Overcome Excessive Indebtedness"The paper deals with the most current topic in the field of collective civil law protection. The reforms of the Bankruptcy Act (seven of them) as well as implementation of the Financial Operations and Pre-Bankruptcy Settlements Act (three amendments), which were implemented in 2012, have significantly altered Croatian insolvency legislation. Nevertheless, the indicative methods of determining the facts show that the bankruptcy and preliminary bankruptcy procedures, in relation to other countries in the region, are consuming less time. They are more expensive and have lower satisfaction from creditors. In comparison to countries with developed bankruptcy systems, Croatian regulations still need improvement. One has to take into consideration a substantial impact of multiple external, institutional factors on legislative solutions (unfavourable social context, problems in the payment system, the precarious recordings of immovable and movable property, an insufficient number of judges who were entrusted with the liquidation proceedings, weak training of bankruptcy administrators, inadequate methods of financing, and consequently weak motivation to work). The legislators are planning to make another functionalization of the Bankruptcy Act. His intention is, after two years of experimentation in the Financial Operations and Pre-Bankruptcy Settlements Act, to accept provisions on pre-bankruptcy settlements and reinstate many pre-existing options in the preparation of the reorganization plan. Since the existing framework is not allowing for a detailed analysis of the aforementioned subjects, one must emphasize that the space here does not permit a detailed analysis of these issues. Therefore, authors of this article will deal with subjects they see as relevant and essential for understanding key issues within the domain of the Bankruptcy Act. This work has been supported by the Croatian science foundation under the project number 6558 "Business and Personal Insolvency - the Ways to Overcome Excessive Indebtedness