Where there is occasion to apportion the price, the judge, on the requisition of the parties or of his own motion, shall appoint an expert and fix the period within which the expert must deposit his report. That report shall be annexed to the procès-verbal of ranking. It shall not be notified. The judge shall rule on the apportionment when establishing his draft distribution. Chapter V: Free management
Commercial Code
Unofficial translation. The English interface is for information only — only the Arabic text published in the Bulletin Officiel is authentic. Read this page in العربية · Français
Notwithstanding any clause to the contrary, any contract by which the owner or the operator of a business grants the lease thereof, wholly or partially, to a manager who operates it at his own risks is governed by the following provisions. Where the free management contract is likely to prejudice the creditors of the lessor of t…
The free manager shall have the status of a trader and shall be subject to all the obligations arising therefrom. Every free management contract shall be published within a fortnight of its date, in the form of an extract in the Bulletin Officiel and in a journal of legal notices. The lessor shall be bound either to have himself…
The free manager shall be bound to state on all documents relating to his commercial activity as well as on all instruments signed by him for that purpose or in his name, his registration number in the trade register and the seat of the court where he is registered and his status as free manager of the business. Any infringement of the provisions of the preceding paragraph shall be punishable by a fine of 2.000 to 10.000 dirhams.
Until publication of the free management contract and for a period of 6 months following the date of that publication, the lessor of the business shall be jointly and severally liable with the free manager for the debts contracted by the latter in connection with the operation of the business, without prejudice to the application of the provisions of Article 60.
The provisions of the preceding Article shall not apply to free management contracts entered into by court-appointed agents entrusted, on any ground whatsoever, with the administration of a business, provided that they have been authorized for the purposes of the said contracts by the authority from which they hold their mandate and that they have complied with the publicity measures provided for.
The end of the free management shall render immediately due and payable the debts relating to the operation of the business contracted by the free manager during the term of the management.
Any free management contract granted by the owner or operator of a business that does not meet the conditions provided for in the above Articles shall be void. However, the contracting parties may not invoke this nullity against third parties. Book III: Commercial Paper Title One: The Bill of Exchange Chapter One: Creation and Form of the Bill of Exchange
The bill of exchange shall contain: 1) the designation of the bill of exchange inserted in the actual text of the instrument and expressed in the language used for the drafting of that instrument; 2) the unconditional order to pay a determined sum; 3) the name of the person who is to pay (drawee); 4) the indication of the maturi…
An instrument in which any of the particulars indicated in the preceding Article is missing shall not be valid as a bill of exchange, except in the following cases: - a bill of exchange whose maturity is not indicated shall be considered payable at sight; - in the absence of a special indication, the place designated next to the…
The bill of exchange may be to the order of the drawer himself. It may be drawn on the drawer himself. It may be drawn for the account of a third party. It may be payable at the domicile of a third party, either in the locality where the drawee has his domicile or in another locality.
In a bill of exchange payable at sight or at a fixed period after sight, it may be stipulated by the drawer that the sum shall bear interest. In any other bill of exchange, this stipulation shall be deemed unwritten. The rate of interest must be indicated in the bill; in the absence of this indication, the clause shall be deemed unwritten. Interest shall run from the date of creation of the bill of exchange if another date is not indicated.
The bill of exchange whose amount is written both in words and in figures shall, in case of discrepancy, be valid for the sum written in words. The bill of exchange whose amount is written several times, whether in words or in figures, shall, in case of discrepancy, be valid only for the lesser sum.
A bill of exchange subscribed by a minor who is not a trader shall be void as regards him, without prejudice to the rights of the parties in accordance with ordinary law. If the bill of exchange bears signatures of persons incapable of binding themselves by bills of exchange, forged signatures or signatures of fictitious persons…
The drawer is guarantor of acceptance and payment. He may release himself from the guarantee of acceptance; any clause by which he releases himself from the guarantee of payment shall be deemed unwritten. Chapter II: The Provision
The provision must be made by the drawer or by the person for whose account the bill of exchange is to be drawn, without the drawer for the account of another ceasing to be personally bound toward the endorsers and the bearer only. There is provision if, at the maturity of the bill of exchange, the person on whom it is provided…
Any bill of exchange, even if not expressly drawn to order, is transferable by endorsement. Where the drawer has inserted in the bill of exchange the words "not to order" or an equivalent expression, the instrument is transferable only in the form and with the effects of an ordinary assignment. The endorsement may be made even i…
An endorsement transfers all rights arising from the bill of exchange. If the endorsement is blank, the holder may: 1) fill in the blank, either with his own name or with the name of another person; 2) endorse the bill again in blank or to another person; 3) deliver the bill to a third party without filling in the blank and without endorsing it.
Unless there is a clause to the contrary, the endorser guarantees acceptance and payment. He may prohibit any further endorsement; in that case, he is not bound by the guarantee to persons to whom the bill is subsequently endorsed.
The holder of a bill of exchange is considered the legitimate holder if he establishes his right by an uninterrupted series of endorsements, even if the last endorsement is blank. Struck-out endorsements are deemed not written for this purpose. Where a blank endorsement is followed by another endorsement, the signatory of the la…
Persons sued under the bill of exchange may not set up against the holder defences based on their personal relations with the drawer or with prior holders, unless the holder, in acquiring the bill, acted knowingly to the detriment of the debtor.
Where an endorsement contains the words "value for collection", "for collection", "by procuration" or any other wording implying a mere mandate, the holder may exercise all rights deriving from the bill of exchange, but he may endorse it only by way of procuration. In that case, the obligors may not invoke against the holder any…
An endorsement subsequent to maturity produces the same effects as an endorsement prior thereto. However, an endorsement subsequent to protest for non-payment, or made after expiry of the period fixed for drawing up the protest, produces only the effects of an ordinary assignment. Unless there is proof to the contrary, an undate…
Up to maturity, the bill of exchange may be presented for acceptance to the drawee, at his domicile, by the holder or even by a mere possessor. In any bill of exchange, the drawer may stipulate that it must be presented for acceptance, with or without fixing a time limit. He may prohibit presentation for acceptance in the bill,…
The drawee may request that a second presentation be made to him on the day following the first. The interested parties are admitted to claim that this request has not been complied with only if it is mentioned in the protest. The holder is not obliged to surrender the bill presented for acceptance into the drawee's hands.
Acceptance is written on the bill of exchange. It is expressed by the word 'accepted' or any other equivalent word; it is signed by the drawee. The mere signature of the drawee affixed to the front of the bill is equivalent to acceptance. When the bill is payable at a certain period after sight or when it must be presented for a…
When the drawer has indicated in the bill of exchange a place of payment other than that of the drawee's domicile, without designating a third party with whom payment is to be made, the drawee may indicate such third party upon acceptance. In the absence of this indication, the acceptor is deemed to have undertaken to pay himsel…
By acceptance, the drawee undertakes to pay the bill of exchange at maturity. In the absence of payment, the holder, even if he is the drawer, has against the acceptor a direct action arising from the bill of exchange for all that may be claimed under Articles 202 and 203.
If the drawee, who has affixed his acceptance to the bill of exchange, has struck it out before the return of the bill, the acceptance is deemed refused. Unless proven otherwise, the striking out is deemed to have been made before the return of the instrument. However, if the drawee has made his acceptance known in writing to the holder or to any signatory, he is bound toward them according to the terms of his acceptance. Chapter V: The aval
The payment of a bill of exchange may be guaranteed in whole or in part of its amount by an aval. This guarantee is provided by a third party or even by a signatory of the bill. The aval is given either on the bill of exchange or on an allonge, or by a separate instrument indicating the place where it was given. It is expressed…
A bill of exchange may be drawn: - at sight; - at a certain period after sight; - at a certain period after date; - at a fixed day. Bills of exchange drawn either at other maturities or at successive maturities are null.
A bill of exchange at sight is payable on presentation. It must be presented for payment within one year from its date. The drawer may shorten this period or stipulate a longer one. These periods may be shortened by the endorsers. The drawer may prescribe that a bill of exchange payable at sight must not be presented for payment…
When a bill of exchange is payable at a fixed day in a place where the calendar is different from that of the place of issue, the date of maturity is considered fixed according to the calendar of the place of payment. When a bill of exchange drawn between two places having different calendars is payable at a certain period after…
The holder of a bill of exchange payable at a fixed day or at a certain period after date or after sight must present the bill of exchange for payment either on the day on which it is payable or on one of the five business days following. The third-party domiciliary of the bill of exchange is bound to pay it only upon the written order of the drawee. Presentation of a bill of exchange to a clearing house is equivalent to presentation for payment.
The drawee may, by paying the total amount of the bill of exchange, require that it be delivered to him duly discharged. The holder may not refuse partial payment. In the event of partial payment, the drawee may require that mention of such payment be made on the bill and that a receipt be given to him. Payments on account of th…
The holder of a bill of exchange may not be compelled to receive payment before maturity. The drawee who pays before maturity does so at his own risk and peril. A person who pays at maturity is validly discharged, unless there has been fraud or gross negligence on his part. He is obliged to verify the regularity of the chain of endorsements, but not the signatures of the endorsers.
Where a bill of exchange is stipulated as payable in a currency that is not legal tender at the place of payment, the amount may be paid in the currency of the country, according to its value on the day of maturity. If the debtor is in default, the holder may, at his choice, demand that the amount of the bill of exchange be paid…
In the absence of presentation of the bill of exchange for payment within the period provided for in article 184, any debtor has the option to consign the amount thereof with the registry of the court of his domicile at the expense, risk and peril of the holder.
Opposition to payment is admissible only in the event of loss or theft of the bill of exchange or of judicial reorganisation or judicial liquidation of the holder.
In the event of loss or theft of an unaccepted bill of exchange, the person to whom it belongs may pursue payment on a second, third, fourth, etc., bill and by giving security.
If the lost or stolen bill of exchange bears acceptance, payment may be demanded on a second, third, fourth, etc., bill only by order of the president of the court and by giving security.
If the person who has lost the bill of exchange or from whom it has been stolen, whether it is accepted or not, cannot produce the second, third, fourth, etc., bill, he may request payment of the lost or stolen bill of exchange and obtain it by order of the president of the court, proving his ownership by his books and giving security.
In the event of refusal of payment, on the request made pursuant to the two preceding articles, the owner of the lost or stolen bill of exchange preserves all his rights by an act of protest. This act must be made on the day after the maturity of the lost or stolen bill of exchange. The notices prescribed by article 199 must be given to the drawer and to the endorsers within the periods fixed by that article.
The owner of the lost or stolen bill of exchange must, in order to procure a second bill, apply to his immediate endorser, who is bound to lend him his name and assistance to act against his own endorser, and so on, going back from endorser to endorser up to the drawer of the bill. The owner of the lost or stolen bill of exchange shall bear the costs.
The security mentioned in articles 190, 191 and 192 shall be extinguished after three years if, during that time, there have been neither demands nor legal proceedings. Chapter VIII: Recourse for want of acceptance and for want of payment, protest, re-exchange Section One: Recourse for want of acceptance and for want of payment
The holder may exercise his recourse against the endorsers, the drawer and the other obligors: 1) at maturity, if payment has not taken place; 2) before maturity: a) in the event of refusal, total or partial, of acceptance; b) in the event of judicial reorganisation or judicial liquidation of the drawee, whether acceptor or not,…
Refusal of acceptance or of payment must be recorded by an authentic instrument called a protest for want of acceptance or for want of payment. The protest for want of acceptance must be made within the periods fixed for presentation for acceptance. If, in the case provided for by the first paragraph of article 175, the first pr…
Where the holder agrees to receive a cheque in payment, that cheque must indicate the number and maturity of the bills of exchange paid. If the cheque is not paid, notification of the protest for non-payment of the said cheque shall be made at the place of payment of the bill of exchange within the period provided for by article…
The holder must give notice of failure to accept or to pay to his endorser within six working days following the day of the protest or that of presentation in the case of a return without expenses clause. Where the bill of exchange states the name and address of the drawer, the notifying agent must inform the latter, within thre…
The drawer, an endorser or an aval guarantor may, by the return without expenses, without protest clause, or any other equivalent clause written on the instrument and signed, exempt the holder, in order to exercise his recourse, from having a protest for non-acceptance or non-payment drawn up. This clause does not exempt the hol…