PROTEST FOR NON-ACCEPTANCE AND NON-PAYMENT
Protests for non-acceptance or non-payment are made by a notary, a bailiff, or any person legally authorized to enforce the bill.
The protest must be made:
- at the domicile of the person to whom the bill of exchange was payable, or at their last known address;
- at the domicile of the persons indicated on the bill of exchange to pay it if necessary;
- at the domicile of the third party who accepted it by intervention; all in a single document.
In the event of a false address, the protest must be preceded by a search warrant.
The protest document contains a verbatim transcription of the bill of exchange, the acceptance, the endorsements and recommendations indicated therein, and a demand for payment of the amount of the bill of exchange. It states the presence or absence of the person who must pay, the reasons for the refusal to pay, and the inability or refusal to sign.
No action by the holder of the bill of exchange may substitute for the protest, except in the cases provided for in Articles 112 et seq., and in Article 120 of the law.
Notaries, bailiffs, or persons legally responsible for enforcement are required, under penalty of criminal sanctions, costs, and damages to the parties, to leave an exact copy of the protests. Under the same penalties, they are also required to deliver, against receipt, to the clerk of the competent court of the debtor's domicile, or to send by registered letter with acknowledgment of receipt, an exact copy of the protests in the event of non-payment of accepted bills of exchange and promissory notes; this formality must be completed within fifteen days of the act.
The clerk of the competent court regularly maintains, in alphabetical order, based on notifications made to him by notaries and bailiffs or persons legally responsible for enforcement, a list by name and debtor of protests for non-payment of accepted bills of exchange.
Statement:
- The date of the protest:
- The name, first name(s), occupation, and address of the person in whose favor the bill was drawn.
or the drawer of the bill of exchange:
- The name, first name(s), or company name, occupation, and address of the acceptor of the bill of exchange:
- The due date, if applicable:
- The amount of the bill:
- The response given to the protest.
After the expiration of a period of one month from the date of the protest and for one year from the same date, any applicant may obtain, at their own expense, from the clerk of the aforementioned court, an extract of the nominative statement provided for in Article 136 of the law.
Upon filing the bill of exchange and the protest against receipt by the debtor, the clerk of the competent court shall, at the debtor's expense, remove the notice of protest from the register drawn up pursuant to Article 136.
The filed documents may be retrieved during the year following the expiration of the one-year period referred to in Article 137 of same law. After this period, the clerk is relieved of this responsibility.
EXCHANGE OF THE BILL OF EXCHANGE
Any person entitled to recourse may, unless otherwise stipulated, obtain reimbursement by means of a new bill of exchange, called a "retraite," drawn on demand by one of the guarantors and payable at that guarantor's domicile.
The retraite includes, in addition to the sums indicated in Articles 125 and 126 of the regulation, a brokerage fee and the stamp duty on the retraite.
If the retraite is drawn by the bearer, its amount is fixed according to the exchange rate of a sight bill of exchange drawn from the place where the original bill was payable at the guarantor's domicile.
If the retraite is drawn by an endorser, its amount is fixed according to the exchange rate of a sight bill drawn from the place where the drawer of the retraite is domiciled to the guarantor's domicile.
Retraites cannot be combined.
Each endorser and the drawer may only bear one retraite.