Is it possible to consider the damage caused to nature as current payments

In one of the cases previously considered by the panel of the court, the question concerned whether the amount of damage caused to the environment can be attributed to current payments if the culprit company is already in insolvency proceedings. The Arbitration Court of Appeal No. 4 concluded that yes, and that's why.

In 2019, Rosprirodnadzor drew up an act that established the responsibility of the debtor for the damage caused by the latter to the environment. The document was compiled based on the analysis of soil samples of the land leased by the defendant.

The tenant's insolvency case was initiated three years earlier, and the representative of the company claimed that no economic activity has been conducted at all since 2015.

However, the Court of Appeal recalled that the obligations that arise after the adoption of the application for insolvency are considered current and must be repaid in the appropriate manner.

Consequently, if the act of Rosprirodnadzor was introduced after the initiation of the debtor's insolvency case, then the requirements established in it should be attributed to current payments (paragraph 3 of the Judicial Practice Review).