Chapter II: Other provisions.

Where the interests involved justify the transfer of one of the proceedings provided for in Book VI of the legislative part of this Code to another court pursuant to Article L. 662-2, this referral may be decided ex officio by the president of the court seised, who shall immediately forward the file by reasoned order to the first president of the court of appeal or, if he considers that the case falls within the jurisdiction of another court of appeal, to the first president of the Cour de cassation.

This referral may also be requested, by reasoned request from the debtor, the pursuing creditor and the public prosecutor at the court seised or at the court which it considers should have jurisdiction, from the first president of the court of appeal or the Cour de cassation.

Where the request is not made jointly by the public prosecutors at the judicial courts concerned, the public prosecutor who is not the author of the request makes his observations known to the registry of the court of appeal or the Cour de cassation at the latest within forty-eight hours of the request being sent to him without delay by the requesting public prosecutor. He will send a copy to the requesting public prosecutor.

In the cases provided for in the second paragraph, the clerk of the court seised will notify the request to the parties without delay and send the file to the court of appeal or the Cour de cassation. If no decision has been taken on the initiation of proceedings, the court shall stay the proceedings pending the decision of the first president of the court of appeal or the first president of the Cour de cassation.

The first president of the court of appeal or the first president of the Cour de cassation shall designate within ten days of receipt of the file, after consulting the public prosecutor, the court that will hear the case. Under the same conditions, the first president of the court of appeal may, if he considers that the interests involved justify the case being referred to a court within the jurisdiction of another court of appeal, order the case file to be forwarded to the first president of the Cour de cassation.

The decisions of the president of the tribunal and of the first president of the court of appeal or of the Cour de cassation shall be notified to the parties without delay by the registrar of the tribunal or court.

Decisions taken pursuant to this article are measures of judicial administration not subject to appeal. Such decisions shall be binding on the parties and on the designated referring court. In the event that the case is transferred, a mention thereof shall be made in the registers referred to in Article R. 621-8 by the registrar of the court that opened, where applicable, these proceedings.

Pending the decision of the first president, the court may appoint a court-appointed administrator, under the authority of a judge temporarily appointed for this purpose, to carry out, in particular, the steps provided for in Article L. 622-4. The court may also order, as provisional measures, an inventory of assets and, in the event of judicial liquidation proceedings, the affixing of seals.