Facts
The present case deals with the question of whether the fee claim of the administrator in the composition agreement with assignment of assets ranks equally alongside the other bankruptcy liabilities or not. The Debt Collection and Bankruptcy Chamber of the Swiss Federal Supreme Court has decided the following:
1. The question of whether a particular claim is to be considered or ranked as a bankruptcy liability is to be decided by the court, not the supervisory authorities for debt collection and bankruptcy. In the present case, however, it is undisputed that the administrator's fee claim is a bankruptcy liability.
2. The principles applicable to the costs of bankruptcy administration are to be applied analogously to the administrator's fee claim in the composition agreement with assignment of assets. In this regard, Art. 262 para. 1 DEBA is to be applied accordingly, according to which all costs arising from the opening and conduct of the bankruptcy are to be covered in advance.
3. Insofar as the administrator's fee is to be considered a bankruptcy liability at all, it is to be taken into account at the bottom of this liability. This corresponds to the case law of the Federal Supreme Court, according to which the expenses and fees of the bankruptcy office and the bankruptcy administration are to be settled first, before the other bankruptcy liabilities, including the fees of the bankruptcy office and the bankruptcy administration, are taken into account.
Considerations
The Federal Supreme Court justifies this decision by the fact that the administrator…