Currently, cases of closing or liquidation of a business in the country are handled outside the courts, according to Rodrigo Callejas, a lawyer specializing in insolvencies. The formal requests submitted to the courts are not known, due to the absence of a regulation that enables the Law approved in 2022.
Callejas explained that, at the moment, and due to The lack of adequate regulationsinsolvency situations usually handle without support from courts, voluntarily between creditors and debtors.
When a company is in financial problems, Callejas said that creditors begin to press, which leads to demands. This, in turn, awakens other creditors who seek to find assets and cover their credits. When the company is indebted and seen in this situation, the lawyer mentioned that the result usually is that the company stop operating. However, there are cases in which creditors seek agreements to restructure the company.
Extrajudicial agreements, or “of goodwill,” categorized Callejas, who added that, due to the lack of a legal agent, the parties are not obliged to fulfill the commitments, which generates risks to the creditor and the debtor, said the lawyer.
Need for the regulation
According to Ana Isabel Antillón, coordinator of the legal certainty axis of the Guatemala initiative does not stop, it is necessary to have the regulation and the registration of bankruptcy administrators so that those who wish to take advantage of the Law of Insolvencies have the mechanisms to use it. “The regulation is important to be able to go to the competent judges in the matter,” said Antillón.
While these aspects are not in force, Companies in front of economic challenges will not have a legal tool that helps them clean their credit recordsaid Antillón.
He also stressed that citizens who have decided to present their insolvency cases have suspended procedures. “The judge has an obligation to resolve, but does not have enough tools at this time to conclude these issues,” said Antillón, who added that no case of this nature has reached a sentence.
Despite this, he mentioned that as long as the regulation or registration of bankruptcy administrators do not have, the cases will remain suspended. This has led to some of the procedures being resolved from an agreement between the partiesaccording to Antillón.
Current process
Sara Larios, Vice Minister of Registry Affairs of the Ministry of Economy (Mineco), ensures that on February 24, 2025 the draft of the Insolvencies Regulation was sent to the Judicial Organization (OJ) as part of the process to advance with its publication. This, said Larios, with the intention of the OJ reviewing the regulations and making comments.
From that moment, the Mineco is waiting for the accusations. According to Larios, they received the update that the OJ is waiting for a legal technical opinion of the Civil Chamber. The vice minister hopes that the file will be sent to the Mineco during the second half of May.
According to the OJ communication area, the regulation is in the process of evaluation and statements will be provided once the evaluation team conclusion is available.
After receiving the document, Larios said they must evaluate the file and analyze the incorporation of some of the comments provided by the OJ. Subsequently, he said that the General Secretariat of the Presidency will be sent for analysis and publication.