The Corona Crisis leads worldwide to critical situations for companies.
In light of this, Digitorney has asked lawyers from various countries specialized in restructuring law for recommendations on what needs to be done and which solutions are at hand to weather the Corona Crisis.
This part of our series focuses on Switzerland:
1) When does a company need to file for insolvency in Switzerland?
Swiss bankruptcy and insolvency law provide only for bankruptcy proceedings triggered either by the debtor and/or its board and management or by any of its creditors. Instead of declaring the debtor bankrupt, the competent court may grant a general stay to give it sufficient time for a private financial restructuring. The bankruptcy court can also order that the case be transferred into a court-managed settlement and composition procedure. MORE
2) What liability risks exist for the management in Switzerland in a corporate crisis?
If the last annual balance sheet shows that one-half of the share capital and legal reserves is no longer covered, the board of directors must convene a general meeting without delay and propose financial restructuring measures. Where there is a valid reason for over-indebtedness, an interim balance sheet must be drawn up and submitted to a licensed auditor for examination. MORE
3) Is there any state aid available for companies in Switzerland due to the Corona crisis?
In an unprecedented, bold and unsee step so far in the history of Switzerland, The Swiss Federal Government has decreed in these hours a total legal standstill for all debt collection and bankruptcy proceedings under the present Swiss Debt Collection and Bankruptcy Act. which is effective until April 19, 2020, whilst seizure proceedings and other urgent debt collection proceedings remain possible. MORE
What immediate measures should a Swiss company take if it is affected by the Corona crisis?
There are no legal provisions related to the immediate measures that the management of a company should in Algeria take if it is affected by the Corona crisis. However, in practice, we have noticed that some companies have implemented the following measures in order to protect the spread of the virus and affect the employees’ health: MORE
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