o:10415 Duties of directors of commercial companies facing the likelihood of insolvency Dužnosti direktora privrednih društava suočenih s verovatnoćom stečaja en Abstract: Following the adoption of EU Directive No. 1023/2019 on preventive restructuring frameworks and its implementation into the national legislation of EU Member States, as well as beyond the EU, specific statutory duties have been introduced for directors of commercial companies facing the likelihood of insolvency. In the course of regular business operations, directors owe specific duties to the company and its shareholders. Until recently, special duties towards the company’s creditors arose only upon the occurrence of a ground for insolvency. The moment at which such special duties towards creditors arise has now been shifted to the pre-insolvency stage, thereby expanding the scope of responsibilities inherent in responsible corporate governance. In such circumstances, directors of a debtor company primarily owe particular consideration to the interests of creditors, shareholders, and other stakeholders. Furthermore, they are obliged to take appropriate steps to prevent the insolvency of the company. Finally, they must refrain from actions or omissions that, either intentionally or through gross negligence, jeopardize the sustainability of the company’s business operations. These duties represent the minimum standard established by the provisions of the Directive, allowing Member States to introduce a broader range of obligations. however, the Directive does not define what constitutes the likelihood of insolvency, nor does it specify the content of the duty of care. Moreover, it fails to clarify which other stakeholders are encompassed by this duty of care. This gives rise to numerous questions, such as the precise moment at which special duties of care arise, the substance of such duties and their potential breach, and the identification of the persons who are beneficiaries of these duties. The aim of this paper is to analyse the newly introduced special duties of directors, the manner and scope of their implementation into national legal systems, and the practical consequences of their application. The research is based on the normative method, complemented by a comparative legal analysis of the implementation of the Directive’s provisions, while case studies provide insight into practical application. Sažetak: Po usvajanju Direktive EU br. 1023/2019 o okvirima preventivnog restrukturiranja i njenim sprovođenjem kroz nacionalna zakonodavstva država članica, kao i van njih, uvedene su za direktore privrednih društava suočenih sa verovatnoćom stečaja posebne zakonske dužnosti. U redovnom poslovanju, direktori imaju posebne dužnosti prema privrednom društvu i vlasnicima kapitala. Donedavno, tek nastupanjem stečajnog razloga rađala se posebna dužnost prema poveriocima društva. Tako se trenutak nastanka posebnih dužnosti prema poveriocima pomera u stanje koje prethodi stečaju i proširuje krug dužnosti odgovorne korporativne uprave. U navedenoj situaciji, direktori privrednog društva dužnika duguju pre svega posebnu pažnju interesima poverilaca, vlasnika kapitala i drugih zainteresovanih lica. Dalje, oni su dužni da preduzmu korake kako bi se sprečio stečaj društva. Najzad, oni su dužni da izbegavaju radnje kojima namerno ili krajnjom nepažnjom ugrožavaju održivost poslovanja društva. Te dužnosti predstavljaju minimum postavljen odredbama Direktive, tako da države članice mogu uvesti širi krug dužnosti. Ipak, Direktiva nije utvrdila šta predstavlja verovatnoća stečaja niti dužnost pažnje. Takođe, nije utvrđeno koja su to druga zainteresovana lica, prema kojima direktori imaju dužnost pažnje. Time se otvaraju brojna pitanja, poput onih kada tačno nastaju posebne dužnosti pažnje, u čemu se sastoji ta dužnost odnosno njena povreda, koja su sve lica poverioci takve dužnosti itd. Cilj ovog rada je da analizira nove, posebne dužnosti direktora, način i obim njihovog uvođenja u nacionalna zakonodavstva i posledice primene u praksi. U radu se polazi od normativnog metoda, zatim se uporednopravnim metodom sagledava sprovođenje odredbi Direktive, a kroz studije slučaja se pruža uvid u praktičnu primenu. Keywords: directors’ duties, commercial company, corporate governance, likelihood of insolvency, EU. Ključne reči: dužnosti direktora, privredno društvo, korporativna uprava, verovatnoća stečaja, EU. 1552101 2812-9466 1552099 10.51738/kpolisa.2026.1r.djdjvjss 91552100 193704457 2026-09-29T07:13:40.831Z 44 yes 46 Đuro M. Đurić Union Nikola Tesla University, Belgrade Faculty of Business Studies and Law 0000-0002-8101-5508 Vladimir M. Jovanović University of Business Academy, Novi Sad Faculty of Law for Commerce and Judiciary person 0000-0003-1741-9062 Stevo Škrbić 3Union Nikola Tesla University, Belgrade Faculty of Business Studies and Law person 0009-0001-9094-7593 application/pdf 256958 https://unilib.phaidrabg.rs/o:10415 no yes 16 70 1552253 211A01 Kultura polisa 23 1 52 68 2026