Section 7: Recourse in the event of non-payment

The bearer may exercise his rights of recourse against the endorsers, the drawer and the other debtors, if the cheque, presented in due time, is not paid and if the refusal to pay is recorded in an authentic instrument called a protest.

The protest must be made before the expiry of the time limit for presentation. If presentation takes place on the last day of the period, the protest may be drawn up on the next working day.

The bearer must give notice of non-payment to his endorser and to the drawer within four working days of the day of protest and, in the case of a no-fee return clause, on the day of presentation. Where the cheque indicates the name and address of the drawer, notaries and bailiffs are obliged, on pain of damages, to inform the drawer within forty-eight hours of registration, by registered letter, of…

The drawer, an endorser or a guarantor may, by means of the clause “return without charge”, “without protest”, or any other equivalent clause, inscribed on the document and signed, exempt the bearer, in order to exercise his remedies, from having a protest drawn up. This clause does not relieve the bearer of the obligation to present the cheque within the prescribed time or to give notice. The burden of proving…

All persons obligated under a cheque are jointly and severally liable to the bearer. The bearer has the right to take action against all these persons, individually or collectively, without being obliged to observe the order in which they have obliged themselves. The same right belongs to any signatory of a cheque who has reimbursed it. An action brought against one of the debtors does not prevent action against the…

The bearer may claim from the person against whom he is making the claim : 1. The amount of the unpaid cheque ; 2. Interest from the date of presentation, payable at the legal rate applicable in France; 3. The cost of protesting the cheque, the cost of any notices given, and any other costs.

The person who has repaid the cheque may claim from his guarantors : 1. The full amount paid; 2. Interest on the said sum, from the day on which he disbursed it, calculated at the legal rate applicable in France; 3. The costs he has incurred.

Any obligor against whom recourse is taken or who is exposed to recourse may demand, against reimbursement, the return of the cheque with the protest and an acquitted account. Any endorser who has reimbursed the cheque may strike out his endorsement and those of subsequent endorsers.

When the presentation of the cheque or the preparation of the protest within the prescribed time limits is prevented by an insurmountable obstacle such as legal prescription or other case of force majeure, these time limits are extended. The bearer must, without delay, give notice of the case of force majeure to his endorser and mention this notice, dated and signed by him, on the cheque or on an extension;…