Creditors and debtors in Germany

Any official petitioner or any person specified by the court as having suffered loss where a bankruptcy order has been made against the debtor. Where a petiton has been presented it can only be withdrawn by leave of the court. A petition may only be presented if, on the day upon which it was presented, the debtor is domiciled in Germany, or is personally present in Germany; or has been ordinarily resident or has had a place of residence in Germany during the previous three years; or has carried on business in Germany during the previous three years.
Creditors' petitions
A creditor's petition may only be presented subject to the following, amongst other, conditions:

The amount of the debt or aggregate amounts of the debts must at least come up to the bankruptcy level
The debt, or debts, must be for a liquidated sum (ie a specific amount) and payable immediately or at some future time and must be unsecured
The debt, or debts, must be such that the debtor appears, either to be unable to pay or to have no reasonable prospect of doing so

There must be a 'statutory demand'. That is to say, a written demand by the creditor for payment. This must be made in a prescribed form and must usually be served upon the debtor personally, allowing a period of at least three weeks for payment. Within 18 days of service of this demand the debtor may apply to the court to have it set side upon sufficient grounds.
Debtors' petitions
A debtor may present a petition to the court simply upon the ground that he is unable to pay his debts. Where there has been a composition or a scheme of arrangement any creditor, or the supervisor may present a petition for a bankruptcy order upon the following grounds:

That the debtor has failed to comply with his obligations under the scheme
Either that the debtor's statement of affairs, or information given by him at a creditors' meeting, was false or misleading, or was subject to omissions
That the debtor has failed to comply with reasonable requirements of the supervisor

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