Can a transformation of a legal entity‘s insolvency concept cause a viable legal entity‘s bankruptcy case initiation?

Raktiniai žodžiai: nemokumas, gyvybingumas, bankroto byla, restruktūrizavimo byla, juridinis asmuo, įsipareigojimai, balanso testas, likvidumo testas. Šio darbo tikslas yra išanalizuoti, ar šiuo metu galiojantis teisinis reguliavimas, numatantis, jog juridinio asmens nemokumas – tai juridinio asmens būsena, kai juridinis asmuo laiku negali vykdyti turtinių prievolių arba juridinio asmens įsipareigojimai viršija jo turto vertę, nesudaro sąlygų iškelti bankroto bylą gyvybingam juridiniam asmeniui. Tyrime yra naudojami šie pagrindiniai metodai – aprašomasis, analizės, lyginamasis, loginis, ir sisteminis. Magistro darbą sudaro trys skyriai. Pirmajame skyriuje apžvelgiama bankroto, kaip nemokumo bylos rūšies sąvoka, jos inicijavimo tvarka, tikslai, subjektai, turintys teisę tai daryti ir privalomos sąlygos, kurioms egzistuojant bankroto byla gali būti inicijuojama. Pirmoje darbo dalyje taip pat apžvelgiamos subjektams, privalantiems inicijuoti juridinio asmens bankroto bylą, kylančios teisinės pasekmės dėl nesavalaikio tokios pareigos vykdymo, bei juridinio asmens gyvybingumo sąvoka. Antrajame skyriuje yra aptariami skirtumai tarp juridinio asmens nemokumo sąvokų Lietuvos Respublikos įmonių bankroto įstatyme ir Lietuvos Respublikos juridinių asmenų įstatyme, taip pat šių sąvokų reikšmės užsienio valstybių, t. y. Airijos, Austrijos, Bulgarijos, Čekijos, Estijos, Graikijos, Jungtinės Karalystės, Lenkijos, Maltos, Norvegijos ir Portugalijos teisėje. Trečiajame skyriuje yra atliekama gyvybingumo sąvokos reikšmės analizė sprendžiant klausimą dėl juridinio asmens mokumo ir nemokumo bylos iškėlimo. Šioje dalyje taip pat siekiama atsakyti į klausimą, ar naujasis nemokumo reglamentavimas sudaro sąlygas iškelti bankroto bylą gyvybingam juridiniam asmeniui. Atlikus tyrimą nustatyta, kad nemokumo sąvokos pakeitimas nesudaro pagrindo svarstyti galimą nemokumo bylų skaičiaus didėjimą, nes nemokumo sąvoka yra orientuota į realią juridinių asmenų finansinę būklę. Kitaip tariant, nemokumo sąvokos pakeitimas gali sudaryti prielaidas iškelti bankroto bylą gyvybingam juridiniam asmeniui tik tuo atveju, jeigu teisinis reglamentavimas bus aiškinamas skirtingai, nei tiesiogiai įtvirtintos normos JANĮ, tačiau vertinant iki šio magistro darbo parengimo susiformavusią teismų praktiką, tokia tendencija nėra stebima. Tačiau tyrimo metu nustatyta, jog nemokumo byla gyvybingam juridiniam asmeniui gali būti iškeliama tuomet, kai kreditoriai neargumentuotai nepritaria juridinio asmens restruktūrizavimo procesui, t. y. nepritaria restruktūrizavimo planui.Keywords: insolvency, viability, bankruptcy proceedings, restructuring proceedings, legal entity, liabilities, balance sheet test, liquidity test. The purpose of this thesis is to examine whether the current legal regulation, providing that the insolvency of a legal entity is the state of a legal entity, when the legal entity is unable to perform its property liabilities in time or the legal entity's liabilities exceed the value of its assets, does not enable the opening of bankruptcy proceedings against a viable legal entity. The following main methods are used in the study – descriptive, analytical, comparative, logical, and systematic. The Master's thesis consists of three chapters. The first chapter gives an overview of the concept of bankruptcy as a type of insolvency proceedings. It describes that the law of most states defines bankruptcy as a right for the benefit of creditors and their debtors and for the protection of their rights when debtors are unable or unwilling to pay their debts. This section also describes the concept of bankruptcy as a type of insolvency proceedings, stating that a bankruptcy case of a legal person is a civil case concerning the legal relationship of the bankruptcy of a legal entity. The first chapter also describes the procedure of initiating bankruptcy proceedings, the actions to be performed by persons wishing to initiate bankruptcy proceedings of a debtor. The entities entitled to perform such an action are also indicated, i.e., legal entity, its creditors and liquidator. Prerequisites for filing for bankruptcy are that the debtor is insolvent and must not be subject to restructuring proceedings. The first part of the thesis also reviews the legal consequences for entities obliged to initiate bankruptcy proceedings of a legal person due to the untimely fulfilment of such an obligation. Civil and criminal liability of the head of a legal person may be the consequences in such cases. In the first part the concept of viability of a legal entity is also discussed. In order to determine whether a legal entity is viable, it is necessary to assess changes in income and liabilities over time and to make changes in these projections for the future, as well as to monitor the fulfilment of tax and financial obligations to employees. It is also important to remember that viability or lack of viability can be demonstrated not only based on the financial statements, if other written evidence refutes the information contained therein. The second chapter discusses the differences between the concepts of insolvency of a legal entity in the Republic of Lithuania Law on Enterprise Bankruptcy and the Republic of Lithuania Law on Insolvency of Legal Entities, as well as the meanings of these concepts in the legal regulation of foreign countries, i.e., Ireland, Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Greece, the United Kingdom, Poland, Malta, Norway and Portugal. The third chapter analyses the meaning of the concept of viability in dealing with the issue of the solvency and insolvency of a legal entity. This chapter also seeks to answer the question of whether the new insolvency rules allow insolvency proceedings to be initiated against a viable legal entity. The study found that the change in the concept of insolvency does not provide a basis for considering a possible increase in the number of insolvency cases, as the concept of insolvency focuses on the real financial situation of legal entities. In other words, a change in the concept of insolvency may lead to the opening of insolvency proceedings against a viable legal person only if the legal regulation is interpreted differently from the directly established norms of the Republic of Lithuania Law on Insolvency of Legal Entities, however, judging by the case law that preceded the preparation of this master's thesis, such a trend is not observed. However, the study revealed that insolvency proceedings may be opened against a viable legal entity when creditors do not substantiate their support for the restructuring process of the legal entity, i.e., when creditors disagree with the restructuring plan. Author of this thesis suggests regulating cases in the Republic of Lithuania insolvency act of legal entities by providing that the court may oblige the applicant to eliminate formal deficiencies of the restructuring plan, thus not only ensuring the quality of the restructuring plan, but also preventing bankruptcy proceedings of a viable legal entity when a restructuring plan with only formal deficiencies is submitted. It is also recommended to add a provision in Article 111 of the Republic of Lithuania insolvency act of the legal entities that “the court may approve a restructuring plan if the creditors’ meeting does not approve the draft plan but does not provide firm reasons or reasons provided are not related to the plan and the court concludes that the legal entity is viable, and the restructuring plan will restore the solvency of the legal entity and cover the debts”.Teisės fakulteta