The webinar started with a welcome address from Mr Zoran Hačić (Co-Chair of the ELI Croatian Hub; Attorney-at-Law and Managing Partner in Hačić & Bošnjak Law Firm, Zagreb) who introduced the main topic of the second ELI Croatian Hub webinar and explained the differences between ELI Hubs and ELI SIGs.

The introductory speech was delivered by Professor Hana Horak (Tenured Professor in Commercial and Company Law at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics and Business). Professor Horak presented the activities and the topics of focus of the ELI Business and Financial Law SIG. The background, aims, and expected outcomes of the upcoming ELI project on ‘Corporate Sustainability, Financial Accounting and Share Capital’ were presented. Participants were also informed about the outcomes of the recent ‘4th International Conference on European Company Law and Corporate Governance’ which was organised by the Faculty of Economics and Business at the University of Zagreb in cooperation with the ELI Business and Financial Law SIG.

Following Professor Horak’s presentation, Dr Kristijan Poljanec (Postdoctoral Researcher at the University of Zagreb, Faculty of Economics and Business) presented a research paper on the solvency test as an alternative means for creditor protection in limited liability companies. Dr Poljanec referred to the concept of share capital in both Anglo-American and civil law, and critics thereof. Building his theses on conceptual loopholes of the share capital doctrine, Dr Poljanec provided an overview of other available means of creditor protection, including mechanisms available under property laws, contract laws, and company laws, with particular reference to the solvency test. The presentation was based on a recently published paper co-authored by Dr Poljanec and Professor Horak (full text available here), where it is argued that EU Member States legislators should consider introducing a solvency test as a complementary means of creditor protection in limited liability companies across the EU, as this would guarantee prudent dividend distribution management to the benefit of the distributing company, its shareholders, and creditors. In this regard, in his presentation, Dr Poljanec referred to the possibilities of introducing a solvency test into the Croatian Companies Act and proposed several regulatory solutions thereof.

The presentations were followed by a Q&A session.

The next ELI Croatian Hub webinar will be held on 23 April 2021.