Facts
On March 7, 1989, Bank X. notified G. of a payment order for the sum of 57,853,034 francs, which G. opposed. G. then filed a request for debt relief with the Court of First Instance of Geneva on December 7, 1989. After several decisions and appeals, the Court of First Instance of Geneva declared G. bankrupt on April 15, 1991 without prior enforcement, at the request of Bank Y.
Given the opening of the bankruptcy, the Court of Justice, by judgment of December 13, 1991, declared the appeal against the judgment of July 5, 1990 as moot and struck the case from the roll. G. then filed a public law appeal to the Federal Tribunal against this decision.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal upheld the appeal and annulled the contested decision. It considered that the action for debt relief does not constitute a mere incident of enforcement that would fall away upon the opening of bankruptcy, but a substantive legal action that must be suspended under Art. 207 para. 1 DEBA and dealt with according to the procedure provided for in Art. 63 BRO.
However, the Federal Tribunal was unable to determine with certainty whether the action for debt relief was still pending at the time of the opening…