Chapter II: The company during the observation period.

I.-The administration of the company is carried out by its manager. II.-When the court, in application of the provisions of Article L. 621-4, appoints one or more administrators, it instructs them together or separately to supervise the debtor in its management or to assist it with all or some of the acts of management. III.-In its mission of assistance, the administrator is required to comply with the legal and contractual…

The debtor continues to exercise on his assets the acts of disposal and administration, as well as the rights and actions that are not included in the administrator’s mission. In addition, subject to the provisions of articles L. 622-7 and L. 622-13, the acts of day-to-day management performed by the debtor alone are deemed valid with respect to third parties acting in good faith.

As soon as he takes office, the administrator is obliged to request the debtor or, as the case may be, to do himself all acts necessary for the preservation of the company’s rights against its debtors and for the preservation of production capacity. The administrator is entitled to register in the name of the company all mortgages, pledges, liens or privileges that the debtor may have neglected to take or…

From the opening judgment, any third party holder is required to hand over to the administrator or, failing this, to the judicial representative, at the latter’s request, the accounting documents and books with a view to their examination.

As soon as the proceedings are opened, an inventory is drawn up of the debtor’s assets, which constitute the pledge of his professional creditors, as well as the guarantees that encumber him. This inventory, which is given to the administrator and the judicial representative, is completed by the debtor by mentioning the assets he holds that are likely to be claimed by a third party. The debtor-entrepreneur shall also list…

Unless, in the judgment opening the proceedings, a public officer or a sworn goods broker has been appointed to draw up the inventory, it shall be drawn up by the debtor and certified by an auditor or attested by a chartered accountant. The provisions of the fourth paragraph of Article L. 622-6 shall not apply in this case. If the debtor does not initiate the inventory operations within eight days…

I. – The judgment initiating the proceedings entails, ipso jure, a prohibition on the payment of any claim arising prior to the opening judgment, with the exception of payment by way of set-off of related claims. It also automatically entails a prohibition on payment of any claim arising after the opening judgment, not mentioned in I of Article L. 622-17. These prohibitions do not apply to the payment of maintenance…

In the event of the sale of a property subject to a special security interest or a legal mortgage, the portion of the price corresponding to the claims secured by these security interests is paid into a deposit account at the Caisse des dépôts et consignations. Once the plan has been adopted, the creditors benefiting from these security interests or holding a general lien shall be paid out of the…

The business of the company is continued during the observation period, subject to the provisions of articles L. 622-10 to L. 622-16.

At any time during the observation period, the court, at the request of the debtor may order the partial cessation of business. Under the same conditions, at the request of the debtor, the administrator, the judicial representative, the public prosecutor or ex officio, it shall convert the proceedings into a receivership, if the conditions of Article L. 631-1 are met, or pronounces the judicial liquidation, if the conditions of article…