Mail block
The imposition of a post ban is a means of protecting creditors regulated in the German Insolvency Code (InsO) .
The possibility of imposing a post ban is regulated by law in Section 99 InsO. According to this provision, the insolvency court can, at the request of the insolvency administrator or ex officio, order that the mail intended for the debtor should not be forwarded to the debtor but to the administrator.
This is based on the idea that the debtor's correspondence may reveal assets that are still hidden from the creditors 'access or that the debtor's ability to communicate by letter may be prevented from withdrawing existing assets from his creditors' access.
The seriousness of this sovereign interference in Article 10 of the Basic Law (postal and telecommunications secrecy) corresponds to the fact that it can only be ordered by a court order . The judicial officer is functionally responsible ( § 3 No. 2e RPflG). The debtor must be heard before the decision is issued , unless, in exceptional cases, the purpose of the order to block the mail could be thwarted by a hearing ( Section 99 (1) sentence 2 InsO). However, if the debtor was not heard as a result, it must be made up for immediately. According to Section 99 (3) InsO , the debtor has the right to lodge an immediate appeal against the resolution by which the mail is blocked .
The mail forwarded to the insolvency administrator due to the ordered mail block may be opened by the latter. The insolvency administrator, for his part, is obliged to forward such mailings that do not concern the bankruptcy estate to the debtor immediately ( Section 99 (2) sentence 2 InsO). Other mail items may be stopped by the insolvency administrator, but the debtor must be allowed to inspect these mail items in accordance with Section 99 (2) sentence 3 InsO.
The post ban of § 99 InsO is systematically standardized in the first section of the third part of the Insolvency Code and thus represents a general effect of the opening of insolvency proceedings. Before the opening of insolvency proceedings, the insolvency court can order a provisional post ban in accordance with § 21 Paragraph 2 No. 4 InsO , for which § 99 , § 101 Paragraph 1 Clause 2 InsO are to be applied accordingly.
