Chapter II: The company during the observation period.

From the date of publication of the judgment, all creditors whose claims arose prior to the opening judgment, with the exception of employees, must send the judicial representative a declaration of their claims within the time limits set by decree of the Conseil d'Etat. Where the creditor has been released from foreclosure in accordance with article L. 622-26, the time limits only run from the date of notification of this decision; they are then reduced by half. Creditors holding a published security or bound to the debtor by a published contract are notified in person or, where applicable, at their elected domicile. The declaration period runs in respect of them from the notification of this warning.

The declaration of claims may be made by the creditor or by any agent or representative of his choice. The creditor may ratify the declaration made on his behalf until the judge rules on the admission of the claim.

When the debtor has brought a claim to the attention of the judicial representative, he is presumed to have acted on behalf of the creditor as long as the creditor has not sent the declaration of claim provided for in the first paragraph.

Claims must be declared even if they are not established by a document of title. Claims whose amount has not yet been definitively determined shall be declared on the basis of an assessment. Claims against the French Treasury and social security and welfare organisations, as well as claims recovered by the organisations referred to in Article L. 5427-1 to L. 5427-6 of the French Labour Code which have not been the subject of a writ of execution at the time of their declaration are admitted on a provisional basis for the amount declared. In any event, Treasury and social security declarations are always made subject to taxes and other claims not established at the date of the declaration. Subject to any legal or administrative proceedings in progress, they must be definitively established, on pain of foreclosure, within the period provided for in Article L. 624-1. If the determination of the tax base and calculation of the tax is in progress, the final assessment of the provisionally admitted claims must be made by issuing the writ of execution within twelve months of publication of the opening judgment. However, if a tax audit or rectification procedure has been initiated, the final establishment of the claims that are the subject of this procedure must be completed before the judicial representative submits his end-of-assignment report to the court registry. The time limit for this final establishment is suspended by referral to one of the commissions mentioned in article L. 59 of the tax procedures book until the date of receipt by the taxpayer or his representative of the opinion of this commission or that of a withdrawal.

The institutions mentioned in article L. 3253-14 du code du travail shall be subject to the provisions of this article for the sums they have advanced and which are reimbursed to them under the conditions laid down for claims arising prior to the judgment opening the proceedings.

Debts properly arising after the opening judgment, other than those mentioned in I of Article L. 622-17, are subject to the provisions of this article. The time limits run from the date on which the claim falls due. However, creditors whose claims arise from a successively executed contract shall declare all sums due to them under conditions laid down by decree in the Conseil d'Etat.

The period for the declaration, by a civil party, of claims arising from a criminal offence shall run under the conditions provided for in the first paragraph or from the date of the final decision fixing the amount thereof, where such decision is made after publication of the opening judgment.

Maintenance claims are not subject to the provisions of this article.