French Insurance Code
In forceI. - No person may, directly or indirectly, administer or manage a company subject to State control by virtue of article L. 310-1 or article L. 310-1-1, a société de groupe d'assurance defined in article L. 322-1-2, a mixed financial holding company defined inarticle L. 517-4 of the Monetary and Financial Code, nor be a member of a collegiate supervisory body of these undertakings, companies or corporations, nor have the power to sign on their behalf, nor be responsible for one of the key functions mentioned in article L. 354-1, if they have been convicted within the last ten years of:
1° For a felony ;
2° A firm prison sentence or a suspended prison sentence of at least six months for :
a) One of the offences provided for in Title I of Book III of the Criminal Code and for offences provided for by special laws and punishable by the penalties provided for fraud and breach of trust ;
b) Concealment or one of the offences assimilated to or similar to concealment set out in Section 2 of Chapter I of Title II of Book III of the Criminal Code;
c) Money laundering ;
d) Active or passive bribery, influence peddling, embezzlement and misappropriation of property;
e) Forgery, falsification of securities or other fiduciary values issued by the public authorities, falsification of marks of authority;
f) Participation in a criminal association;
g) Drug trafficking;
h) Pimping or one of the offences provided for in sections 2 and 2a of Chapter V of Title II of Book II of the Criminal Code;
i) One of the offences provided for in section 3 of the same chapter and section 6a of chapter III of Title II of the Criminal Code;
j) Any of the offences under the legislation governing commercial companies set out in Title IV of Book II of the French Commercial Code;
k) Bankruptcy;
l) Loan-sharking ;
m) Any of the offences under the legislation on gambling and casinos set out in articles L. 324-1 to L. 324-4, L. 324-10 and L. 324-12 to L. 324-14 of the French Internal Security Code;
n) Infringement of the laws and regulations governing financial relations with foreign countries;
o) Tax fraud;
p) Any of the offences listed in articles L. 121-2 to L. 121-4, L. 121-8 to L. 121-10, L. 411-2, L. 413-1, L. 413-2, L. 413-4 to L. 413-9, L. 422-2, L. 441-1, L. 441-2, L. 452-1, L. 455-2, L. 512-4 and L. 531-1 of the French Consumer Code;
q) Any of the offences specified in the Monetary and Financial Code;
r) Any of the offences provided for in articles L. 8221-1, L. 8221-3, L. 8221-5 and L. 8224-1 of the French Labour Code;
s) Offences against automated processing systems as provided for in Chapter III of Title II of Book III of the Criminal Code;
t) Any of the offences against the legislation or regulations applicable to companies governed by the Insurance Code, provident institutions governed by Title 3 of Book 9 of the Social Security Code, their unions, social protection insurance group companies and mutual insurers, unions and federations governed by the Mutual Code;
3° Dismissal from public or ministerial office.
II. - The incapacity provided for in the first paragraph applies to any person in respect of whom a definitive personal bankruptcy order or another definitive prohibition order has been issued under the conditions provided for in Book VI of the Commercial Code.
III. - Without prejudice to the provisions of the second paragraph of article 132-21 of the French Penal Code, the court handing down the decision resulting in this incapacity may reduce the duration of the incapacity.
IV. - Persons exercising a function, activity or profession mentioned in the first paragraph of I who are subject to one of the convictions provided for in I and II must cease their activity within one month of the date on which the court decision becomes final. This period may be reduced or waived by the court that handed down the decision.
V. - In the event of a conviction handed down by a foreign court and having become res judicata for an offence constituting, under French law, a felony or one of the misdemeanours mentioned in I, the criminal court in the place of residence of the convicted person declares, at the request of the public prosecutor, after ascertaining that the conviction is in order and lawful and that the person concerned has been duly summoned to appear in chambers, that the disqualification provided for in the first paragraph of I should be applied.
This incapacity also applies to any person who has not been rehabilitated and who has been declared bankrupt by a foreign court when the declaratory judgment has been declared enforceable in France. The application for exequatur may, for this purpose only, be made by the public prosecutor before the judicial court of the convicted person's domicile.
VI. - The fact that a person is not subject to the incapacity provided for in this article does not prejudice the assessment by the competent authority of whether the conditions required for approval or authorisation to practise have been met.
VII. - Persons called upon to manage an undertaking, company or firm mentioned in the first paragraph of I or to perform one of the key functions mentioned in article L. 354-1 must be of good repute and have the competence and experience required for their duties.
The members of the Board of Directors or Supervisory Board of the persons mentioned in 1°, 2° and 9° of B of I of Article L. 612-2 of the Monetary and Financial Code must be of sufficiently good repute and have the necessary skills and experience.
To assess the competence of the persons concerned, the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution shall take into account their training and experience in a manner commensurate with their duties, in particular experience acquired as chairman of a board or committee. In its assessment of each person, the authority shall also take into account the skills, experience and responsibilities of the other members of the body to which that person belongs. Where mandates have been held previously, competence is presumed on the basis of the experience acquired. In the case of new members, the authority shall take account of the training from which they may benefit throughout their term of office.
VIII. - When the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution is called upon to rule on the suitability of shareholders as well as on the good repute, competence and experience of the persons who effectively manage the undertaking or who are responsible for key functions within the meaning of Article L. 322-3-2 and when these persons perform such functions in another entity of the same group within the meaning of Article L. 356-1, it shall consult the competent authorities of this other entity. It shall provide these authorities with the information they need to perform their duties.
IX. - The provisions of this article are applicable to the general representative appointed by undertakings operating under the establishment system.
X. - A Conseil d'Etat decree specifies the conditions for application of this article.
