CHAPTER III : The application of laws and regulations in Saint-Barthélemy

Articles in this section · 6

Article D6213-2

French General Code of Local AuthoritiesIn force

Updated 4 Nov 2023

I. - Part One of the General Code of Territorial Authorities is applicable to Saint-Barthélemy under the conditions set out in this article.

II. - Book I is applicable to Saint-Barthélemy provided that in article D. 1115-2, the reference to the Minister of the Interior is replaced by the reference to the Minister responsible for Overseas Territories.

III. - Book II is applicable to Saint-Barthélemy under the following conditions:

1° For the application of article R. 1211-8, the president of the territorial council of Saint-Barthélemy is assimilated to the presidents of the general councils of departments;

2° Pour l'application de l'article R. 1211-19,the president of the territorial council of Saint-Barthélemy is assimilated to the presidents of the general councils of departments;

3° For the application of article R. 1221-1 (1° d), the territorial council of Saint-Barthélemy is assimilated to the departmental councils;

4° For the application of Article D. 1231-7, the territorial councillors of Saint-Barthélemy are assimilated to the general councillors of the departments.

IV. - Book IV is applicable to Saint-Barthélemy under the following conditions:

1° For the application of articles R. 1421-9 and R. 1421-14, the archives of the collectivity of Saint-Barthélemy are assimilated to the archives of the commune;

2° The list of documents mentioned in article R. 1421-9 is completed by the list of documents mentioned in Article R. 1421-14 with the exception of f;

3° Articles R. 1421-10 et R. 1421-14 à R. 1421-16 are not applicable to Saint-Barthélemy;

4° In Article R. 1422-4, the libraries of the collectivity of Saint-Barthélemy are assimilated to municipal libraries;

5° Article R. 1422-14 is not applicable to the collectivity of Saint-Barthélemy;

6° Articles R. 1424-1 to 1424-37 do not apply to Saint-Barthélemy;

7° For the application of Article R. 1424-38, the risk analysis and coverage plan for the collectivity of Saint-Barthélemy is assimilated to the departmental risk analysis and coverage plan;

8° For the application of Article R. 1424-42, the Official Journal of Saint-Barthélemy is assimilated to the collection of administrative acts of the prefecture and the departmental fire and rescue service;

9° For the application of Article R. 1424-45, the territorial fire and rescue service is assimilated to the departmental fire and rescue operational centre known as CODIS;

10° For the application of article R. 1424-40, the chairman of the board of directors of the territorial fire and rescue service is assimilated to the chairman of the board of directors of the departmental fire and rescue service;

11° Articles R. 1425-1 to R. 1425-25 are not applicable to the collectivity of Saint-Barthélemy.

V. - Book VI is applicable to Saint-Barthélemy under the following conditions:

1° For the application of Article D. 1612-1, the following 4° is inserted after 3°: 4° Le montant de la dotation globale de fonctionnement à inscrire au budget primitif;

2° Les articles D. 1612-5 to D. 1612-7 do not apply to Saint-Barthélemy;

3° For the application of Article L. 1614-10, libraries in the collectivity of Saint-Barthélemy are subject to the rules applicable to municipal libraries in overseas departments.

Mariela Petrova

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Any time a strategic decision changes how the company is owned, governed or contractually bound — incorporation, fundraising, M&A, restructuring, shareholder agreements, or major commercial contracts. Earlier engagement always costs less than later remediation.

A notary (notaire) is a public officer who authenticates specific deeds (mainly real-estate transfers and certain family-law acts). A corporate lawyer (avocat) advises on strategy, negotiates and drafts company documents, and represents you in disputes. The two roles complement rather than overlap.

Yes — most of our clients are foreign suppliers, investors or holding entities. We bridge the gap between French law and your home jurisdiction's expectations and deliver everything bilingually.

The SAS (Société par Actions Simplifiée) is the default choice for most international structures: flexible governance, single shareholder allowed, no minimum capital, and works cleanly with foreign holding entities. We assess SARL, SA, SCI on the merits when the situation calls for it.

Yes — communications with a French avocat are protected by the secret professionnel (Article 66-5 of the Law of 31 December 1971). This protection is broader than the common-law attorney-client privilege and applies to written and oral exchanges.

We work on fixed fees for clearly scoped engagements (incorporation, contract drafting, audits) and on monthly retainers for ongoing advisory. Hourly billing is the exception, not the default. You always know the cost before work starts.

Typical timeline is 2–3 weeks from KYC kick-off to RCS registration, assuming standard documentation. Holding-company structures, foreign-shareholder identification or in-kind contributions can extend this — we flag the gating items at the first meeting.

Absolutely. We routinely coordinate with your in-house counsel, expert-comptable or notaire — pragmatic collaboration is the norm, not the exception. We send them everything they need to do their part without duplicating work.

Mariela Petrova

Mariela Petrova

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