Selected measures to mitigate coronavirus impact
Currently on their way to the chamber of deputies are government bills aiming to mitigate the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The bills should help debtors subject to enforcement proceedings and lessees of non-residential premises, as well as deal with the running of time limits in court and administrative proceedings.
On 7 April 2020, the deputies commenced a summary consideration of selected government bills aimed at mitigating the effect of the current pandemic. First, this concerns lex COVID, which in addition to changes to insolvency rules and some other issues associated with the decision-making of corporate entities also contains other changes.
Lex COVID should allow participants in court and other listed proceedings to apply for a waiver of deadlines missed as a result of the current pandemic, or for the restoration of time limits in criminal proceedings (deadline retrocession).
Within lex COVID, an amendment to the Enforcement Procedure Code proposes to allow bailiffs to suspend proceedings if in the last three years these did not result in the recovery of debt. The entitled party (i.e. creditor) may prevent such a suspension by depositing an additional advance for expenses or by just expressing disagreement with the suspension of enforcement if claims such as maintenance and support allowances for minor children or compensation of damage to health are concerned.
In addition to lex COVID, the government also approved a bill on certain measures to mitigate the pandemic effects on the lessees of non-residential premises (for business purposes). The bill prohibits lessors to terminate the leases for such premises over a protective period (until 31 March 2022) solely on the grounds of the lessee’s failure to pay rent in the decisive period (from 12 March to 30 June 2020). Despite its complex wording, the bill actually gives lessees the possibility to spread the payment of rent for the decisive period over the following two years.