Summary

After the restoration of independence, all issues in Estonian law regarding insolvency have been treated in the context of bankruptcy and on the basis of the Bankruptcy Act. The theoretical analyses by Estonian legal scholars cover almost only bankruptcy law and bankruptcy proceedings. There is a widely-held standpoint that an insolvent company has actually only one possible option – classical bankuptcy proceedings, which conclude with the liquidation of the company. Many groups of international experts in the field of insolvency, however, have expressed the opinion that legal regulations should provide the possibility, in suitable cases, to avoid liquidation bankruptcy proceedings, and that the ways of overcoming insolvency should be treated as one system from which it would be possible to select a suitable method for the resolution of each separate case.

The author examines the alternatives to liquidation bankruptcy proceedings in current Estonian law, the preconditions for their implementation and the possible consequences. The article also seeks to answer the question as to whether the current insolvency regulation is in accordance with expectations by society, and whether and how it would be possible to make the regulations more effective.