From the 1. January, a new law comes into force on the insolvency of consumers, also known as the law about personal bankruptcy, that prezaduženim citizens could enable a new start and controlled the repayment of their debts and receivables.
The Act regulates the General rules on consumer bankruptcy, izvansudski procedure in counselling centres, the preconditions for the opening of bankruptcy proceedings of the consumer, the procedure in court, and the assumptions and the effects of the release of the consumer of the remaining liabilities.
The goal is an honest consumer, rid of obligations that remain after cashing his property and the distribution of the collected funds to the creditors. Integrity of the consumer is determined, the Court, taking into account the consumer's behaviour before submitting a proposal for the opening of the procedure of bankruptcy, and his behavior during the court proceedings and the period of verification behavior.
During the course of the Council's discussions in September, Justice Minister Orsat Miljenic warned that it is not about "magic stick", the mechanism uphill for debtors. "This is not a magic wand, he gives the debtor the opportunity for a new beginning, but it's hard because everyone should count with it that they will not be able to keep the assets if there are debts," he said then, Miljenic.
He stressed that it will be able to start personal bankruptcy debtors, and in only that no one will be able to make them. Recalled how Croatia is among the four EU countries that do not yet have the Institute of personal bankruptcy.
The law defines that the bankruptcy of the consumer can be opened only if the consumer is unable to pay, or can not meet overdue financial obligations, and is incapable of payment if at least 90 consecutive days cannot meet one or more of the outstanding financial liabilities in a total amount of more than 30000 kunas.
Consumer bankruptcy is possible in izvansudskom procedure, which is carried out before starting the procedure of bankruptcy concluding an out-of-court agreement between consumers and creditors. Izvansudski procedure implemented by the mediator in the counseling center, and the counselling centres are considered organizational units of the financial agencies and other persons who have been granted permission to perform these operations. The mediator is an employee of a financial agency or other natural person who is the Minister responsible for Justice Affairs issued the license for conducting broker.
The mediator is obliged to in the izvansudskom procedure, to devote particular attention to the protection of the consumer as the weaker side in the legal relation and to act in a manner that ensures respect for the entirely personal and family life, dignity, reputation and honour of the consumer. Also, he is obliged to treat your personal information in accordance with the provisions of the regulations governing the protection of personal data.
One of the biggest proponents of personal bankruptcy, the President of the Croatian Association of unions of Ozren Matijasevic supports the law, noting that most of their proposals adopted in the very text of the law. Since 2009. years we've been looking for the adoption of such a law because unlike legal entities, it was not possible to implement bankruptcy of a natural person. In the meantime, the enormously increased the number of blocked citizens, as well as their debt, says M.
The weakness of the law in the institution of the mediator see Matijasevic, which there is not enough and are not fully moulded, so he asks how the law in practice carried out with so little intermediaries, and so a large number of blocked citizens.
By the data of the financial agencies, at the end of October this year in the blockade was 323,887 citizens, or 1.2 percent more than a year earlier, and their debt amounted to 35.8 billion or 21 percent more than in 2014.
Citizens are mostly owed to banks, 19.5 billion kuna, which is 54.6 percent of total debt. The following are the debts of the central State of 3.4 billion kuna, insurance companies of 1.08 billion, leasing and factoring companies of 986.2 million, the telecommunications companies of 957.4 million euros, those companies whose activity is tabbed business from 753.6 million.