Debt collection and bankruptcy law
A service offered by the lawyers at Espace Legal avocats & solutions
Initiating Debt Collection
Debt Collection Request and Payment Order
Debt enforcement and bankruptcy law govern the legal mechanisms used to recover a claim or assert rights in situations of insolvency. These proceedings are strictly regulated by the Federal Act on Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy (LP), and require rigorous handling at each stage.
The procedure generally begins with the filing of a debt collection request with the competent Debt Enforcement Office. The debtor is then served with a payment order and has ten days to lodge an objection. In the absence of payment or a negotiated settlement, the next step is to request the lifting of the objection (either provisional or definitive), before initiating, where applicable, seizure or bankruptcy proceedings.
Whether you are a creditor seeking to recover a claim or a debtor facing enforcement proceedings, we assist you at every stage (filing the request, recovery strategy, objection-lifting proceedings, negotiation of an arrangement, or defence against abusive measures).
Our dynamic approach aims to secure your rights while ensuring strict compliance with the formalities and deadlines prescribed by law.
Enforcement Methods
Seizure and Bankruptcy
If the debtor neither pays within the prescribed time nor lodges an objection to the payment order, the creditor may request continuation of the proceedings. At this stage, the procedure diverges depending on the debtor’s status and the nature of the claim.
Debt enforcement by way of seizure generally applies to individuals who are not registered in the commercial register. It enables the Debt Enforcement Office to seize the debtor’s assets in order to satisfy the claim, within the limits of the debtor’s available property.
Debt enforcement by way of bankruptcy, on the other hand, primarily concerns legal entities or self-employed individuals registered in the commercial register. It leads to the opening of collective liquidation proceedings, during which the debtor’s assets are realised and distributed among creditors in accordance with the rules laid down in the LP. Each method follows specific rules and involves strategic choices that must be addressed with care.
Whether you are a creditor or a debtor, we provide guidance at each stage to ensure your rights are respected and your interests are defended with determination.
Special Procedures
Attachment, Composition Agreements, and Realisation of Pledged Property
Specific procedures also exist, such as seizure, which allows a creditor to obtain the provisional seizure of the debtor’s assets, particularly when the debtor has no fixed domicile, has no domicile in Switzerland, presents a risk of flight, or intends to evade his obligations.
Composition agreement proceedings offer the debtor the opportunity to propose an arrangement to creditors to avoid bankruptcy, often in the form of a staged repayment plan or a reduction of the debt. The debtor’s economic activity is temporarily preserved while ensuring an orderly management of creditors’ interests.
Enforcement by realisation of pledged property is used when the claim is secured by a pledge, enabling the secured creditor to have the pledged asset sold and to be paid in priority from the proceeds.
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Frequently asked questions
In response to frequently asked questions about debt collection and bankruptcy law in Switzerland, we have drawn up these frequently asked questions (FAQs). It aims to clarify the essential aspects of these procedures.