Liability for de debts of a dissolved company. Is the italian legal system losing contest with other european systems?

Abstract

Italian legal framework provides two credit protection strategies which can be employed to enforce the liability for debts ( both contingent liabilities and unpaid debit residuals ) of a dissolved company: the first based on Company Law , the other on Bankruptcy Law. According to Company Law, by virtue of art. 2495, Civil code, capital companies which have been removed from the Register after a liquidation process(1), are to be considered extinct. Moreover, according to the Court of Cassation, U.S., February 22nd, 2010, no. 4060-4061-4062(2) the same conclusion can be drawn for partnerships because of systematic coherence. Therefore, following the cancellation from the Company Registry, the companies no longer exist neither as legal entities nor as subjects of law. Shareholder and liquidator will respond in different ways to any surviving or overdue social debt, according to artt. 2312 and 2495 c.c