Abstract

As regards personal bankruptcy the legislator has provided for the possibility of authorising the bankrupt to sell movable assets included in the bankruptcy estate. Such authorisation is covered by the concept of representation. Under such authorisation the bankrupt represents the receiver. The source of the bankrupt’s authority to sell movable assets included in the bankruptcy estate is the reciver’s declaration of will, which may be given in any form (also per facta concludentia). As a minimum, such a declaration should include essentialia negotii of the legal transaction, i.e. the contract for the sale of movables included in the bankruptcy estate. The authorisation may also be generic, i.e. authorise the performance of transactions of a certain type (e.g. sale of certain type of goods), or specific, i.e. authorise the performance of a concrete specific legal transaction on behalf of the principal.The receiver may at all times withdraw the bankrupt’s authorisation for the sale of movable assets included the bankruptcy estate. The receiver’s authorisation may also expire as a result of renunciation by the bankrupt, as well as upon the death of either the receiver or the bankrupt.In the situation whereby the bankrupt has sold the movables of the bankruptcy estate within the limits of the original authorisation after the authorisation expired, as a matter of principles the legal consequences of the transaction will be binding for the receiver. An exception will be the situation whereby the buyer knew that the bankrupt’s authorisation had expired or could have easily learned about that fact.The consequences of the sale of movable assets included in the bankruptcy estate under the authorisation given to the bankrupt will be like in the case of enforced sale.