RESTITUTION BECAME A REASON FOR INITIATION OF A BANKRUPTCY CASE

In August, the Judicial Chamber of the Supreme Court of Russia considered the case on the complaint of one of the debtor's creditors, whose claims were successively rejected by the courts of three instances.

The application concerned the initiation of bankruptcy proceedings regarding the creditor's right to restitution against the debtor. However, such a legal framework confused the judges, who considered that the restitution claim could not be a reason for insolvency case initiation.

At the same time, the judges of the Supreme Court allowed themselves to disagree with their colleagues, substantiating their position as follows.

In accordance with the norms of the current legislation on bankruptcy, the list of obligations, based on which it is possible to initiate an insolvency case, is not exhaustive.

At the same time, the law may separately establish claims that cannot become a reason for bankruptcy proceedings initiation, but restitution claims are not among them.

Thus, the judges made a mistake by rejecting the creditor’s claims, having misinterpreted the rules of law, which caused the cancellation of their judicial acts (determination No. 307-ES20-2237 of August 3, 2020).