Gäldenärens avtal i konkurs - Om möjligheten till inträde i det finansiella leasingavtalet
(2025) JURM02 20252Department of Law
Faculty of Law
- Abstract
- In Sweden, there is legislation, through the Bankruptcy Act, which regulates what applies in the event of bankruptcy. Under existing law, a central guiding principle is to ensure that the rights and best interest of the collective of creditors are safeguarded. Against this background it is of fundamental importance that the assets of the bankruptcy estate are preserved and administered in an appropriate manner. One of most important assets of the bankruptcy estate are the debtor´s various contracts.
Despite the fact that a contract may represent substantial values and be of central importance both to the bankruptcy trustee as well as the collective body of creditors, the Bankruptcy Act lacks provisions governing how such contracts are... (More) - In Sweden, there is legislation, through the Bankruptcy Act, which regulates what applies in the event of bankruptcy. Under existing law, a central guiding principle is to ensure that the rights and best interest of the collective of creditors are safeguarded. Against this background it is of fundamental importance that the assets of the bankruptcy estate are preserved and administered in an appropriate manner. One of most important assets of the bankruptcy estate are the debtor´s various contracts.
Despite the fact that a contract may represent substantial values and be of central importance both to the bankruptcy trustee as well as the collective body of creditors, the Bankruptcy Act lacks provisions governing how such contracts are to be handled in the event of bankruptcy.
Upon bankruptcy, the debtor´s contracts continue to remain. However, the bankruptcy estate is not automatically bound by the debtor´s obligations, and the estate´s right to assume the debtor’s contracts, as well as the circumstances and consequences thereof, are not regulated under the current bankruptcy legislation.
For certain types of contracts, specific regulation exists in special legislation, such as the Sale of Goods Act and the Tenancy Act, which provides guidance on how the relevant contract is to be handled in the event of bankruptcy. However, there is no legislation governing financial leasing contracts, and consequently no provisions governing the handling of such contracts in the event of bankruptcy.
This thesis aims to investigate and analyze the applicable law concerning the question of the bankruptcy estate´s assumption of the debtor´s potential finan-cial leasing agreements. The thesis examines whether a right of assumptions exists and, if so, how it is structured. Furthermore, the thesis seeks to highlight the uncertainties and ambiguities that arise from the lack of statutory reg-ulation in this area. Both bankruptcy trustees and counterparties face questions concerning the contract, its validity, and its consequences, where the parties are currently forced to rely on analogies and interpretations on a case-by-case basis.
The issue addressed in the thesis has been discussed for several decades, and proposals for legislation have been put forward. Legislation has also been introduced in the area closely related to bankruptcy, namely reconstruction, without this resulting in corresponding regulation in the Bankruptcy Act.
The legislator´s inactivity in this regard may partly be explained by the fact that the system, despite the absence of regulation, appears to function relatively smoothly in practice. However, the questions remain whether the fact that solutions have been found in individual cases constitutes sufficient grounds to claim that there is no need for legislation.
I am sceptic as to the need for specific statutory regulation of financial leasing agreements in bankruptcy. Nevertheless, much indicates that a general regula-tion governing the treatment of the debtor´s contracts in bankruptcy would help clarify, for the parties to a financial leasing agreement, how their respective interests are to be balanced in the event of bankruptcy. (Less) - Abstract (Swedish)
- I Sverige finns lagstiftning, genom nu gällande konkurslag, som reglerar vad som gäller vid en konkurs. Av gällande rätt framgår att en central utgångspunkt är att säkerställa att borgenärskollektivets rätt och bästa tillvaratas. Mot denna bakgrund är det av grundläggande betydelse att säkerställa konkursboets tillgångar. En av konkursboets viktigaste tillgångar är gäldenärens olika avtal. Trots att avtalen kan representera stora värden och vara av central betydelse för konkursförvaltaren och borgenärskollektivet saknar konkurslagen bestämmelser om hur dessa ska hanteras i konkursen.
Vid konkurs fortsätter gäldenärens avtal att gälla. Däremot är konkursboet inte automatiskt bundet av gäldenärens förpliktelser och konkursboets möjlighet... (More) - I Sverige finns lagstiftning, genom nu gällande konkurslag, som reglerar vad som gäller vid en konkurs. Av gällande rätt framgår att en central utgångspunkt är att säkerställa att borgenärskollektivets rätt och bästa tillvaratas. Mot denna bakgrund är det av grundläggande betydelse att säkerställa konkursboets tillgångar. En av konkursboets viktigaste tillgångar är gäldenärens olika avtal. Trots att avtalen kan representera stora värden och vara av central betydelse för konkursförvaltaren och borgenärskollektivet saknar konkurslagen bestämmelser om hur dessa ska hanteras i konkursen.
Vid konkurs fortsätter gäldenärens avtal att gälla. Däremot är konkursboet inte automatiskt bundet av gäldenärens förpliktelser och konkursboets möjlighet att inträda i gäldenärens avtal och omständigheter och konsekvenser härav är inte reglerat i nu gällande konkurslagstiftning.
För en del avtalstyper finns specifik reglering i speciallagstiftning, exempelvis köplagen och hyreslagen, som ger vägledning för hanteringen av det aktuella avtalet vid en konkurs. För avtal avseende finansiell leasing saknas lagstiftning och därmed saknas också bestämmelser kring hanteringen av avtalet vid en eventuell konkurs.
Nu aktuella uppsats syftar till att utreda och analysera gällande rätt avseende frågan om konkursboets inträde i gäldenärens eventuella avtal om finansiell leasing. Finns en inträdesrätt och hur är den i så fall utformad. Uppsatsen syftar också till att lyfta de osäkerheter och otydligheter som följer av att området inte är lagreglerat. Både för konkursförvaltaren och för medkontrahenter uppstår frågor kring avtalet, dess giltighet och konsekvenser, där parterna idag är hänvisade till analogier och tolkningar i den enskilda situationen.
Frågan som behandlas i uppsatsen har varit uppe för diskussion under ett antal decennier och förslag på lagstiftning har lyfts. Lagstiftning har också införts avseende det till konkurs närliggande området, rekonstruktion, men utan att detta kommit att medföra reglering i konkurslagen.
Lagstiftarens passivitet i detta hänseende kan delvis och eventuellt förklaras med att systemet, trots avsaknad av reglering, förefaller fungera relativt friktionsfritt i praktiken. Men frågan är om den omständighet att lösningar hittats i enskilda fall är tillräcklig grund för att göra gällande att det saknas ett behov av lagstiftning.
Behovet av särskild lagreglering för finansiella leasingavtal i konkurs ställer jag mig tveksam till. Mycket talar dock för att en generell reglering av hanteringen av gäldenärens avtal vid konkurs hade bidragit till att tydliggöra för parterna i ett avtal om finansiell leasing hur deras olika intressen ska hanteras och prioriteras vid en konkurs. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9216689
- author
- Rössberger, Ebba LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- The Debtor´s Contracts in Bankruptcy - On the Possibility of Entry in to a Financial Leasing Agreement
- course
- JURM02 20252
- year
- 2025
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- Civilrätt, Avtalsrätt, Obeståndsrätt, Konkurslagen
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 9216689
- date added to LUP
- 2026-01-18 12:47:24
- date last changed
- 2026-01-18 12:47:24
@misc{9216689,
abstract = {{In Sweden, there is legislation, through the Bankruptcy Act, which regulates what applies in the event of bankruptcy. Under existing law, a central guiding principle is to ensure that the rights and best interest of the collective of creditors are safeguarded. Against this background it is of fundamental importance that the assets of the bankruptcy estate are preserved and administered in an appropriate manner. One of most important assets of the bankruptcy estate are the debtor´s various contracts.
Despite the fact that a contract may represent substantial values and be of central importance both to the bankruptcy trustee as well as the collective body of creditors, the Bankruptcy Act lacks provisions governing how such contracts are to be handled in the event of bankruptcy.
Upon bankruptcy, the debtor´s contracts continue to remain. However, the bankruptcy estate is not automatically bound by the debtor´s obligations, and the estate´s right to assume the debtor’s contracts, as well as the circumstances and consequences thereof, are not regulated under the current bankruptcy legislation.
For certain types of contracts, specific regulation exists in special legislation, such as the Sale of Goods Act and the Tenancy Act, which provides guidance on how the relevant contract is to be handled in the event of bankruptcy. However, there is no legislation governing financial leasing contracts, and consequently no provisions governing the handling of such contracts in the event of bankruptcy.
This thesis aims to investigate and analyze the applicable law concerning the question of the bankruptcy estate´s assumption of the debtor´s potential finan-cial leasing agreements. The thesis examines whether a right of assumptions exists and, if so, how it is structured. Furthermore, the thesis seeks to highlight the uncertainties and ambiguities that arise from the lack of statutory reg-ulation in this area. Both bankruptcy trustees and counterparties face questions concerning the contract, its validity, and its consequences, where the parties are currently forced to rely on analogies and interpretations on a case-by-case basis.
The issue addressed in the thesis has been discussed for several decades, and proposals for legislation have been put forward. Legislation has also been introduced in the area closely related to bankruptcy, namely reconstruction, without this resulting in corresponding regulation in the Bankruptcy Act.
The legislator´s inactivity in this regard may partly be explained by the fact that the system, despite the absence of regulation, appears to function relatively smoothly in practice. However, the questions remain whether the fact that solutions have been found in individual cases constitutes sufficient grounds to claim that there is no need for legislation.
I am sceptic as to the need for specific statutory regulation of financial leasing agreements in bankruptcy. Nevertheless, much indicates that a general regula-tion governing the treatment of the debtor´s contracts in bankruptcy would help clarify, for the parties to a financial leasing agreement, how their respective interests are to be balanced in the event of bankruptcy.}},
author = {{Rössberger, Ebba}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Gäldenärens avtal i konkurs - Om möjligheten till inträde i det finansiella leasingavtalet}},
year = {{2025}},
}