Facts
This decision concerns an appeal filed by A. S.A. against a judgment rendered by the IInd Civil Court on 20 April 1989. The main issue was to determine from what point the one-year deadline provided for in Art. 116 para. 1 DEBA to request the sale of seized assets starts to run.
In the present case, a claim was seized by the debt collection office and the seizure minutes were notified late to the creditor. The creditor then requested the sale of the seized assets, but the court considered that the one-year deadline provided by law had expired.
Considerations
The Federal Tribunal confirmed that the one-year deadline provided for in Art. 116 para. 1 DEBA runs from the execution of the seizure by the debt collection office, and not from the notification of the seizure minutes to the creditor. This interpretation is based on the clear wording of the law in the three official languages, as well as on the prevailing case law and doctrine.
The Federal Tribunal noted that the interest of the debtor being pursued and of the third parties concerned is at stake, and that the creditor who has requested the seizure must expect its prompt execution and then the notification of the seizure…