Deferral and Late Payment of Commercial Contractual Obligations in Spain (in Spanish)
Anuario de Derecho Concursal, Vol. 5, pp. 279-299, 2005
24 Pages Posted: 9 Jan 2011
Date Written: May 30, 2005
Abstract
Directive 2000/35/EC is build on fragile grounds: it is very questionable whether the deferral and excessive late payment in commercial transactions are necessarily negative. There may be many efficiencies and benefits for contractors arising from taking them into account (both deferral and late payment) as elements to bargain in negotiating commercial contracts, and that's what practice demonstrates. Therefore, it is doubtful whether the EU should restrict the freedom of the parties in this matter. It is even more doubtful that this issue should be harmonized at EU level. The enormous variety in institutional settings and business realities of the Member States make it difficult to standardize the rules and, above all, make it inadvisable. This paper reflects concisely on the alleged issue of postponing the payment of contract debts in the commercial sector, commenting briefly on Directive 2000/35/EC, and on the evolution of Spanish legislative procedure for its implementation into Spanish Law and on the major developments introduced by Act 3/2004, concluding with some uncertainties and problems raised by the possible breach by Spain of EU Law in implementing the Directive.
Note: Downloadable document is in Spanish.
Keywords: EU Law, Commercial Contracts, Deferral, Late Payment, Directive 2000/35/EC, Spain, Contracts
JEL Classification: D86, K12, L14, L81
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation