The purpose of bankruptcy proceedings is to satisfy creditors' claims to the greatest extent possible. Bankruptcy proceedings are primarily intended to ensure proper business operations and at least partial satisfaction of creditors. Consequently, the debtor's enterprise is to be eliminated from business as a legal entity under this procedure. The provisions governing this procedure for declaring bankruptcy are regulated in the Act of February 28, 2003 – Bankruptcy Law (Journal of Laws of 2022, items 655, 807, 872, as amended).
The basis for filing such a motion is the debtor's insolvency. Case law and legal doctrine indicate that a debtor is insolvent if they have lost the ability to meet their due financial obligations. It is often stated that a debtor is insolvent if the delay in meeting their financial obligations exceeds three months.
Managers are obligated to provide accurate information in bankruptcy petitions. Article 522.1 of the Bankruptcy Law states that anyone who, being a debtor or a person authorized to represent a debtor who is a legal person or a commercial company without legal personality, provides false information in a bankruptcy petition is subject to imprisonment from three months to five years. A debtor, within the meaning of this provision, is a person who has become a participant in bankruptcy proceedings initiated as a result of filing a bankruptcy petition. In the case of petitions concerning legal persons, the representatives of those entities who filed the bankruptcy petition are subject to criminal liability.
Given the computerization of bankruptcy proceedings, which involves filing applications via an electronic system, this act can be committed by signing a bankruptcy petition with a qualified signature or a signature verified by ePUAP. Another key issue is the court's registration of the petition in the electronic system of the National Debt Register.
Article 522.2.2 of the Bankruptcy Law also penalizes providing the court with false information regarding the debtor's assets. This offense is punishable by imprisonment for a term of three months to five years.
The prohibited acts listed in both paragraphs 1 and 2 of the commented provision may only be committed intentionally. This means that the perpetrator intends to commit them. The perpetrator either wants to commit them or foresees the possibility of committing them and consents to it.
From the point of view of managers, at the stage of preparing bankruptcy applications, it is crucial to reliably fulfill their obligations and to verify the data constituting the basis for the application being prepared.
This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.
Legal status as of November 22, 2023
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