By Yasmine EDDAM
28 April 2025
When a company runs into financial difficulties leading to receivership or compulsory liquidation, a critical period begins: the suspect period. As we saw in our introductory article on the suspect period, certain acts carried out during this period are so abnormal that they are automatically nullified by law (nullités de droit). However, other acts, which are quite common and valid in normal times, can also be challenged. These are known as «optional» nullities. Unlike legal nullities, which sanction the act itself, these nullities depend on a subjective element: the state of mind of the partner of the company in difficulty at the time of the transaction. If this partner (creditor, supplier, customer, etc.) knew that the company was in a state of suspension of payments when he dealt with it, the deed may be cancelled by the court. This possibility of annulment is designed to protect equality between creditors and to prevent certain creditors, who are better placed than others, from...
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