French Insurance Code
In forceI.-The body provided for in the second paragraph of I of Article L. 512-1 shall take the form of an association. The articles of association of the association thus created shall be approved by order of the Minister responsible for the economy.
II - The body is responsible for establishing, maintaining and updating the register referred to in article L. 512-1. To this end, it receives applications for registration or renewal of registration, examines and decides on these applications, deletes and removes entries from the register and sends notifications to the competent authorities of the other Member States of the European Union and the other States party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, as well as receiving notifications from these authorities.
III - The Director General of the Treasury or his representative acts as Government Commissioner to the body. He may take part in the work of the General Meeting and any other bodies created by the body's articles of association. It shall receive all documents and notices of meetings and may request a second deliberation by these bodies.
IV - Each year, the organisation draws up a balance sheet, an income statement and notes to the accounts. The organisation appoints an auditor and a deputy auditor from the list referred to in I of article L. 822-1 of the French Commercial Code, for the purpose of certifying the accounts.
V.-A commission is responsible for registration in the register referred to in article L. 512-1.
It is made up of members appointed from among the professionals mentioned in article L. 512-1 and article L. 546-1 of the Monetary and Financial Code or their representatives, taking into account in particular those registered in this register, as well as persons qualified in the fields of insurance, banking and finance. These members are appointed for a period of five years by order of the Minister for the Economy, after consultation with the professional organisations concerned.
The committee can only validly deliberate if half of its members are present.
Each member has one vote. Commission decisions are adopted by a two-thirds majority of the votes cast. Voting by proxy is prohibited.
If one of the members of the committee has a direct or indirect interest in the matter under review, he shall inform the other members and shall not take part in the decision.
For the purposes of determining the quorum rules applicable to the deliberations of the committee, if it is not possible to use an alternate, no account shall be taken of a member who refrains from sitting on the grounds that he considers himself to be in a conflict of interest.
If a member of the committee refrains from sitting on the grounds that he considers himself to be in a conflict of interest, this will be recorded in the minutes of the meeting.
Prior to registration in the aforementioned register, the Commission shall verify that all the conditions set out in section 2 of this chapter have been met.
The committee may hear any expert.
VI - Subject to the application of the provisions of articles II and III of article L. 514-4, the persons responsible for examining the files and who have knowledge of information relating to intermediaries are bound to secrecy under the penalties laid down inarticle 226-13 of the Criminal Code. This secrecy is not enforceable against the judicial authority acting in the context of criminal proceedings.
This provision does not prevent the exchange of information with the competent authorities of other Member States of the European Union or other States party to the Agreement on the European Economic Area, relating to registration in the register, or the disclosure by the body, to any person who has an interest therein and who so requests, of the name of the company that issued the intermediary with the certificate referred to in III of Article R. 512-14 or the certificate referred to in III of Article R. 512-15, as well as the references of the contract to which the certificate relates.
VII - The corresponding files and records are kept on a durable medium for a period of five years from the date of removal from the file.
VIII -In the event of dissolution of the organisation, the surplus of net assets over liabilities is devolved either to another organisation with a similar purpose, or to the State.
