Disputes on the distribution of discovered property of a liquidated legal entity in the practice of the Arbitration Court of the Far Eastern District in 2023–2024

The legal institution governing the distribution of assets discovered after the liquidation of a legal entity was introduced into the civil legislation of the Russian Federation in 2014, when Article 64 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation was supplemented with Clause 5.2, establishing a corresponding procedural framework for interested parties. Over the past decade, practical application has revealed certain issues related to this institution. In particular, the legal nature of assets discovered post-liquidation requires clarification, as academic debates continue regarding the existence of "ownerless rights." The object of this study is the social relations arising in the distribution of assets discovered after the liquidation of a legal entity, while the research subject includes Clause 5.2 of Article 64 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation, relevant law enforcement practices, and doctrinal perspectives of Russian legal scholars. The study employs formal-legal, doctrinal, and comparative-legal research methods. The findings may be useful for practicing lawyers engaged in cor- porate disputes. The novelty of this work lies in its comprehensive scientific examination of the legal regulation of post-liquidation asset distribution, with a particular focus on recent case law from the Arbitration Court of the Far Eastern District in 2023–2024. The study leads to several key conclusions: preventing abuses in the distribution of assets of liquidated legal entities requires stricter legal liability measures; the theory of "ownerless rights" has validity but is not universally applicable and does not fully encompass all potential scenarios arising in post-liquidation asset distribution; procedural aspects of this process also require further clarification.