2 Argentina

Subject(s):

Customer obligations and foreign law — Debt — Monetary obligations — Contractual set-off — Insolvency set-off — Judicial set-off

This chapter discusses the law of set-off in Argentina by focusing on the relevant provisions of the Argentine Civil and Commercial Code (CC Code). Under the CC Code, set-off provides a means of cancelling or extinguishing an obligation. According to the Code, a set-off arises when two parties reach a mutual agreement to be creditor and debtor. The chapter first provides an overview of the main elements of set-off as stipulated in the CC Code before explaining the specific set-off provisions that are applicable in an insolvency case. In particular, it examines statutory set-off and contractual set-off, set-off against insolvent parties, set-off provisions for the case of reorganization and bankruptcy under the Argentine Bankruptcy Law, and set-off during the ‘suspect’ or ‘look-back’ period. Finally, it analyses set-off provisions governing cross-border transactions.