Bankruptcy Law

1. The small debtors' liquidation procedure shall be initiated by a court's decision pursuant to Article 140 or Article 158 of this Law, or by a judicial depository, or pursuant to paragraph (2) of this Article. 2. If the petition for initiation is filed by the creditor, the court shall consider such petition and take any of the following actions: a) Initiate the procedure if: I. the small debtor is distressed or bankrupt; II. it finds, based on information submitted thereto, that the small debtor is unlikely to remain in business, and that his assets are sufficient to cover the expenses of the liquidation procedure; or III. the creditor submits the information and documents referred to in Article 145 of this Law. b) Reject the petition if: I. the petition does not satisfy the statutory requirements or is unjustifiably incomplete; II. it finds, based on information submitted thereto, that the small debtor is likely to remain in business and settle the claims of creditors within a reasonable time; III. the petitioner acts in bad faith or the petition involves abuse of the procedure; or IV. the debtor’s assets are insufficient to cover liquidation procedure expenses. If the court rejects the petition, it may order the initiation of another suitable bankruptcy procedure. c) Postpone the hearing for a period not exceeding 21 days to provide any additional information or documents it requests on the set date and prior to the date set for the postponed hearing. The court shall decide to either initiate the procedure or reject the petition in accordance with the provisions of this Article. 3. The court shall notify the small debtor who fails to attend the hearing of its decision within five days from the conclusion of the hearing.