French Commercial code
In forceI.-The college of the Haut conseil du commissariat aux comptes comprises:
1° Four magistrates, including:
a) A member of the Cour de cassation, chairman of the Haut conseil;
b) Two magistrates from the judiciary, one of whom is chairman of the restricted panel provided for in II;
c) A magistrate from the Cour des comptes ;
2° The Chairman of the Autorité des marchés financiers or his representative, the Chairman of the Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de résolution or his representative, the Director General of the Treasury or his representative;
3° One university professor specialising in legal, economic or financial matters;
4° Four persons qualified in economic and financial matters; the first is chosen for its expertise in the fields of public offerings and companies whose securities are admitted to trading on a regulated market, the second for its expertise in the field of banking or insurance, the third for its expertise in the field of small and medium-sized enterprises, legal entities under private law with an economic activity or associations, the fourth for its expertise in national and international accounting;
5° Two persons who have practised as statutory auditors.
The members mentioned in 1° include an equal number of women and men. Among the other members, with the exception of the ex officio members mentioned in 2°, the difference between the number of women and men may not be greater than one.
The Bureau is made up of the Chairman of the High Council and two full members and their alternates, elected by the College from among its members. It is responsible for exercising the powers referred to in 4° of I of Article L. 821-1.
The Chairman of the High Council is appointed by decree of the President of the Republic for a term of six years. He shall perform his duties on a full-time basis. If he is unable to act, he is replaced by the judge who does not chair the restricted panel.
The members of the High Council, other than the ex officio members, are appointed by decree for six years, renewable once, with the exception of the members mentioned in 5°, whose term of office is not renewable. The term of office is not interrupted by any age limit rules that may apply to the persons concerned.
When a new member is appointed to replace a member whose term of office has ended before the normal expiry date, the new member shall be of the same gender as the member being replaced.
II.-The Haut Conseil du Commissariat aux Comptes shall act in a restricted formation with regard to sanctions and fee disputes.
The restricted panel is composed of the magistrate of the judiciary order who is its chairman and four other members elected by the college from among its members, with the exception of the members of the bureau and the Director General of the Treasury or his representative.
If the chairman is unable to act, he is replaced by the oldest member of the restricted panel.
Members of the select committee do not take part in the Board's deliberations on individual cases.
III.-A commission made up of equal numbers of members of the Board and statutory auditors is appointed by the High Council to prepare the draft standards provided for in 2° of I of Article L. 821-1. The number of members and the procedures for appointing them, as well as the rules governing its organisation and operation, are set by the Haut Conseil's internal regulations.
