Action required for old syndicate agreements

Syndicate agreements are usually not fixed in duration and ordinary termination (without cause) is entirely excluded in many (in particular) old contracts. According to Supreme Court ruling syndicate agreements “in the usual form” are to qualify as a partnership under the Civil Code “GesbR” (7 Ob 59/03 g).

Since the entry into force of the reform of partnerships under the Civil Code on 1 January 2015 for GesbR established indefinitely, there must be a right to ordinary termination. It is clear that, in any case, this applies to syndicate agreements stipulated after 1 January 2015 . As regards syndicate agreements stipulated before 1 January 2015, there is a possibility to postpone the application of the new dismissal rules through an opting-out. For this it is necessary that (at least) one member of a syndicate declares the opt-out by 30 June 2016 towards the other members of the syndicate. In this case the new legal situation with respect to ordinary termination only applies as of 1 January 2022.
For further information and for review or revision of ‘old’ syndicate contracts GEISTWERT is at your disposal.