On the Financial Trustee's Entering into a Lease Agreement in Individual Asset Liquidation Proceedings

The subject of the research is the legal nature and limits of the powers of the financial trustee when entering into lease agreements for the debtor's property in individual asset liquidation proceedings. The norms of the Federal Law "On Insolvency (Bankruptcy)" regulating the obligations of the financial trustee are analyzed, including the provisions of paragraph 8 of Article 213.9, paragraph 5 of Article 213.25, paragraph 2 of Article 20.3, and paragraph 4 of Article 20.3 of the specified law. The case law of commercial courts is examined, where opposing approaches have been formed regarding the issue of the financial trustee's obligation to manage the debtor's property: from recognizing such an obligation with the possibility of recovering damages to its complete denial. The existing theories of insolvency administration in Russian legal science and their influence on defining the content of the financial trustee's obligations are considered. Attention is paid to establishing an appropriate mechanism for protecting the interests of the debtor and creditors in the event of a temporary inability to sell the property. The methodological basis of the research consists of formal-legal, comparative-legal, and systemic methods of scientific knowledge, applied to the norms of bankruptcy legislation, judicial practice, and doctrinal sources of Russia, Germany, England, and the USA. The author concludes that neither the text of the law nor the principle of good faith can justify the obligation of the financial trustee to manage the debtor's property: as a general rule, the financial trustee is only required to ensure the safekeeping of property until its sale. A distinction is made between the obligations of the insolvency administrator and the financial trustee based on the differences in the usage regime of the property of a commercial organization and a citizen. It is substantiated that the legal position formed in relation to the insolvency administrator of a legal entity cannot be mechanically applied to the financial trustee. At the same time, both the debtor and creditors have an independent legitimate interest in the management of the bankruptcy estate, the protection of which is possible in court by resolving disagreements provided that the economic viability of the lease is confirmed.