Thursday 28 February 2013 at 1300
Comparative Law Discussion Group
Assignment of Receivables under French Law : From the Napoleonic Code to the Global Financial Market
Speaker: Professor Philippe Stoffel-Munck, University of Panthéon-Sorbonne (Paris I)
Venue: Oxford Law Faculty Seminar Room F (with lunch from 12.30 in the Foyer of the IECL)
Modelled on the pattern of the law of contracts for sale, the rules governing the assignment of receivables have remained unchanged in the Civil Code since 1804, in spite of the accrued circulation of receivables brought about by the “bankerization” of the economy. More surprisingly, case law also failed to modernize these rules. Yet, as of 1981, a set of special rules was enacted aside the Civil Code to facilitate the trading of receivables in the sole framework of the financial industry. These rules have become a model for simplifying and securing the assignments of receivables. Should non-bank operators remain deprived of such advantages ? What new risks might the extension of these rules create ? What issues are still to be resolved from the standpoint of both civil and commercial law ? A call for reform has been launched in France regarding these rules. The latest development in this area occurred on January 2013 with the publication of a draft reform by a working group directed by Professor François Terré, Membre de l'Institut. This Lecture aims to develop an understanding of the architecture of the French Law System in this field and to assess its outlooks, thus allowing for a comparison with other European legal systems.
For more information please contact: Jenny Dix
Organised by the Comparative Law Discussion Group in conjunction with Obligations Discussion Group
