House of Representatives Adopts Three Parliamentary Bills on Companies and the Code of Insurance
The House of Representatives adopted on Monday, July 22, 2024, by unanimity of votes, three parliamentary bills linked to companies and the Code of Insurance. The adoption took place during a legislative plenary sitting chaired by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Rachid Talbi El Alami, and attended by the Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research, and Innovation, Mr. Abdellatif Miraoui, and the Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in Charge of Relations with the Parliament and Government Spokesperson, Mr. Mustapha Baitas.
The first Parliamentary Bill, presented by Rep. Zaina Idhali (Group of the National Rally of Independents), aims to supplement Article 71 of Law 5.96 on partnership companies, limited share partnership companies, companies of limited partnership by shares, limited liability companies, and joint venture companies. The Article defines the conditions and formalities of the convention of the general assemblies of said companies by conferring the power to call for such assemblies exclusively to managers while limiting the partners' right to requesting from the managers to call for general assemblies. The Article also stipulates that any amendment to any article of the statutes of said companies cannot be introduced without the convention of a general assembly according to the aforementioned Article.
The Parliamentary Bill proposes the addition of a paragraph to Article 71 as an exception to the general rule that inhibits partners from calling to the convention of the general assembly in the event of the vacancy of the position of manager, according to the following wording: "Notwithstanding the provisions above, one or more partners outlined in the fourth paragraph of the present Article may, in the event of the vacancy of the position of manager for any reason, call for the convention of a general assembly of the company to appoint its manager."
The second Parliamentary Bill, also proposed by Rep. Zaina Idhali (Group of the National Rally of Independents), supplements Article 85 of Law 5.96 on partnership companies, limited share partnership companies, companies of limited partnership by shares, limited liability companies, and joint venture companies.
The Bill intends to fill the legal void that regulates the continuation of limited liability companies owned by a sole partner in the event of his death by proposing the following: "In the event of the death of the sole partner, his heirs or right-holders may submit a request to the competent court to appoint a representative to hold the general assembly of the company to update its statutes to adapt them to the Law within 60 days of the date of death."
The third Parliamentary Bill, proposed by the members of the Parliamentary Caucus of Justice and Development, concerns amending Law 17.99 operating as Code of Insurance.
By virtue of this Bill, the deadline for the insured to notify the insurance company or its agent of the occurrence of an insured incident was extended to 60 days instead of 20 days starting from the date of the incident. The Bill includes a sole article amending the provisions of Article 64-5 of Law 17.99 on the Code of Insurance as follows: “The insured must notify the insurance company of any incident that would trigger the insurance cover as soon as he is aware of said incident or within the next 60 days following its occurrence.”
It should be noted that the House of Representatives has not adopted the parliamentary bill presented by the members of the Socialist Group of Ittihadi Opposition amending and supplementing Law 18.12 on compensation for occupational accidents during the sitting. Instead, the Bill was referred to the House of Councilors for completion of procedure.
