The thesis addresses direct claims of the subcontractor against the principal and contentious issues related to it, especially the content of some required conditions, legal form and the effects of insolvency proceedings on the direct claims of the subcontractor.
Direct claims of the subcontractor against the principal have gained attention only during the latest economic crisis, when subcontractors were facing difficulties in obtaining payments, although there was no reasonable grounds for it. The provision is an important exception to the general rule of relativity of contracts. Provided certain conditions are met, it gives subcontractors the right to claim their payments directly from the principal, even though there is no contractual relationship between the two. The first part of the thesis focuses on when the required conditions are met.
The next issue in question is the legal form, where different theoretical and case law approaches exist. The majority opinion on it is that the direct claim is an assignment of a claim under the law, where the enforcement of the direct action against the principal causes the claim towards the principal to transfer from the main contractor's assets to subcontractor's assets.
The last part of the thesis focuses on a repeatedly asked question of the effects of insolvency proceedings against the main contractor on the direct claims of the subcontractor. Controversial is especially the effect of the bankruptcy proceeding. Based on the results of previous chapters, the thesis looks for answers on if and on what legal grounds will the subcontractor obtain the payment despite the bankruptcy proceeding against the main contractor.
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