Rehinli Malın Konkordato Mühleti İçinde Paraya Çevrilmesi Yasağı (İİK m 295)
Son yıllarda çeşitli gerekçelerle önemini yitiren konkordatonun yeniden canlandırılması için 7101 sayılı Kanun ile İcra ve İflâs Kanunu’nun konkordatoya ilişkin hükümlerinde bazı değişiklikler yapılmıştır. Yapılan değişikliklerden birisi de, kesin mühletin rehinli alacaklılar bakımından sonuçlarının ayrı bir maddede (İİK m 295) düzenlenmesidir.
İcra ve İflâs Kanunu’nun 294. maddesinin birinci fıkrasına göre, kesin mühlet içinde borçluya karşı kural olarak hiçbir takip işlemi yapılamaz ve daha önce başlamış olan takiplere devam edilemez. Rehnin paraya çevrilmesi yoluyla takip bakımından ise durum farklıdır. Zira Kanun’un 295. maddesinin birinci fıkrasına göre, konkordato mühleti sırasında rehinle temin edilmiş alacaklar nedeniyle rehnin paraya çevrilmesi yoluyla takip başlatılabilir veya başlamış olan takiplere devam edilebilir; ancak bu takip nedeniyle muhafaza tedbirleri alınamaz ve rehinli malın satışı gerçekleştirilemez. 7101 sayılı Kanun ile yapılan değişiklikten önce, bu konuda İcra ve İflâs Kanunu’nda benzer bir hüküm yer almaktaydı (İİK m 289). Bununla birlikte, yeni maddede düzenlenen rehinli malın satış yasağının 7101 sayılı Kanun ile değiştirilen diğer maddeler çerçevesinde incelenmesi gerekir.
Çalışmada konkordato süreci bakımından önemli sonuçları bulunan konkordato mühleti içinde rehinli malın paraya çevrilmesi yasağı incelenmiştir. Söz konusu yasak; yasağın amacı, yasağın geçerli olduğu zaman dilimi ve kişi bakımından kapsamı yönleriyle ele alınmıştır. Yasağın kişi bakımından kapsamı incelenirken özellikle konkordato borçlusu lehine üçüncü kişinin malvarlığı üzerinde rehin tesis edilmesi durumunda, satış yasağının üçüncü kişiye ait rehinli mal bakımından geçerli olup olmadığı meselesi üzerinde durulmuş ve bu konuda Türk ve İsviçre hukukundaki görüşler değerlendirilerek bu yasağın üçüncü kişiye ait rehinli mallar açısından da mevcut olduğu sonucuna varılmıştır.
Prohibition of the Sale by Auction of the Pledged Goods within the Period of the Concordat
To revitalize the concordat process which has lost its importance for various reasons in recent years, some amendments have been made in the provisions of the Turkish Code of Enforcement and Bankruptcy (IIK) by Law No 7101. One of the amendments is to regulate the results of the definitive period in terms of pledged creditors in a separate article (Article 295 of the Turkish IIK).
Under the first paragraph of Article 295 of the Turkish Code of Enforcement and Bankruptcy, pledges may initiate debt collection by realising pledged property during the definitive period; but no protection measures can be taken and the sale by auction of the pledged property cannot be realized. Prior to the amendment to Law No 7101, a similar provision was included in the Turkish Code of Enforcement and Bankruptcy Law. However, the prohibition on the sale by auction of pledged goods issued in the new article should be examined within the framework of other articles amended by Law No 7101.
In this study, the prohibition of the sale by auction of pledged goods within the definitive period is examined, which has important results in terms of the concordat process. In this study, the purpose and scope of prohibition are taken into consideration in terms of the time period. When considering the scope ofprohibition in terms of a person, especially in the case of pledge on the assets of the third party in favor of the concordat debtor, the issue of whether the prohibition of auction by sale applies to the pledged property of the third party was discussed and the opinions of Turkish and Swiss jurists were evaluated. As a result of this study, it was concluded that prohibition also exists for the third party pledged goods.
Concordat is a legal remedy that a debtor who is unable to pay his debts despite the due date or who is in danger of not being able to pay his debts may apply for protection of his debts through deducting or granting a delay of his debts or to protect him from a possible bankruptcy.
The competent court in the request for concordat is the commercial court of the first instance. The debtor might be given a provisional period by the court (IIK Art 287/1); if the court sees that the concordat project will succeed, the concordat debtor might be given the definitive period (IIK Art 289/3).
Under the first paragraph of Article 295 of the Turkish Code of Enforcement and Bankruptcy, pledges may initiate debt collection by realising pledged property during the definitive period; but no protection measures can be taken and the sale by auction of the pledged property cannot be realized.
The prohibition of sale by auction of pledged property shall commence from the moment of the issuance of a provisional period and end on the date in which the concordat is approved. If the court decides to postpone the sale by auction of the pledged property (IIK Art 307), the prohibition shall be terminated no later than one year after the date of approval of concordat.
A third party may pledge their property in favor of the concordat debtor. According to doctrine, it is possible that the third party pledged goods can be sold as a result of debt collection by realising pledged property within the concordat period. In our opinion, Article 295 cannot be considered separately from Article 307 of the Turkish Code of Enforcement and Bankruptcy. Article 307 is a continuation of Article 295 in terms of the prohibition of sale. Because the duration of the ban in Article 295 is increased with Article 307. Therefore, the determination of prohibition on the sale of pledged goods should not be contrary to the purpose of these articles.
According to an opinion in the doctrine, Article 307 applies only to pledged goods belonging to the concordat debtor, and it is not possible to postpone the sale of pledged goods belonging to third parties under Article 307. However, this opinion does not coincide with the preamble of Article 307. In the draft Law of 7101, the title of Article 307 is “postponement of the sale and retention of pledged goods of the debtor and the return of the goods subject to financial leasing”, while the new title is “postponement of the sale and retention of pledged goods and the return of the goods subject to financial leasing”. The purpose of this amendment to the title is explained as follows:
“[…] In the framework of article 34 of the bill, if the pledged property belongs to a third party, a postponement decision can be taken in accordance with the article and one of the conditions regarding the postponement of the storage and sale of pledged goods is changed in favor of the debtor […]”
As can be seen, the important thing for postponing the sale of pledged property is not the owner of the pledged property but whether the pledge is necessary for the existence of the enterprise. The goods required for the existence of the enterprise may belong to a third party.
Within the period of the concordat, it is forbidden to sale by auction the pledged goods belonging to the debtor and to third parties. Otherwise, the sale of the pledged goods belonging to a third party may be postponed by a decision of approval of the concordat, which is important for the existence of the enterprise, creates a contradictory result.
The court may rule for the lifting of prohibition of the sale by auction of pledged goods within the period of the concordat. The prohibition of the sale by auction of pledged goods within the period of the concordat was brought with the idea that it could be important for the debtor’s firm and that the concordat project would be badly affected if it was sold. Therefore, the sale of a property that is not important for the concordat project, or prohibition of sale within the time limit of the concordat would not be against the purpose of the ban. The court should then be able to allow the sale of pledged property which is not necessary for the existence of the firm and which, if it is sold, will not jeopardize the economic situation of the concordat debtor.