Recodification of the Regulatory Part of the Craft Code and Limitation Period for Compensation in Life Insurance

Selection made by Rodolphe Bigot, Lecturer, Le Mans University, Amandine Cayol, Lecturer, Caen Normandy University, Cédric Hélaine, Doctor of Laws, Lecturer at the University of Aix-Marseille, and Laurent Dargent, editor-in-chief.

Arts and crafts

Recodification of the regulatory part of the Craft Code

• Following Ordinance No. 2023-208 of March 28, 2023 on the legislative part of the crafts code, a decree of June 22 decree entails a new codification of the regulatory part of the crafts code. Coming into force on 1^is July 2023. It is part of the new code architecture now comprising five books.
  The following decrees are codified:
  – decree no. 66-137 of March 7, 1966 relating to CMA France;
  – decree n° 98-246 of April 2, 1998 relating to the professional qualification required for the exercise of the activities provided for in article 16 of law n° 96-603 of July 5, 1996 relating to the development and promotion of trade and crafts;
  – Decree No. 98-247 of April 2, 1998 relating to craftsmanship qualification and the trades and crafts sector;
  – Decree No. 99-433 of 27 May 1999 relating to the composition of establishments in the network of chambers of trades and crafts and their chambers at departmental level and to the election of their members;
  – Decree No. 2010-1356 of 11 November 2010 implementing the reform of the network of chambers of trades and crafts;
  – Decree No. 2017-978 of May 10, 2017 relating to the quality of artisan cook;
  – decree n° 2019-1081 of October 23, 2019 specifying the conditions for the approval of the agreement provided for in article 23-1 of law n° 96-603 of July 5, 1996 relating to the development and promotion of trade and crafts. (Decr. no. 2023-500 of June 22, 2023 on the regulatory part of the craftsmanship code)

Assurances

Life insurance and failure of a wealth management adviser to fulfill his obligation to inform: limitation period for the action for compensation for the loss of opportunity suffered on the sums invested

• It follows from the combination of Articles 2224 of the Civil Code and L. 110-4 of the Commercial Code that the obligations between merchants and non-merchants are prescribed by five years from the day on which the holder of a right knew or would have had to know the facts allowing him to exercise it. The failure of a wealth management adviser to fulfill his obligation to inform the subscriber of a life insurance policy denominated in units of account of the risk of loss presented by an investment vehicle, or his obligation to the adviser with regard to such a risk, deprives this subscriber of a chance to avoid the realization of these losses. These are only realized when the life insurance contract is redeemed, even if the support in question has previously been the subject of a disinvestment. The damage resulting from such a breach must be assessed with regard, not to the change in the surrender value of the entire contract, but to the loss in value noted on this sole medium, modulated in consideration of the yield which, duly informed or advised, the subscriber could have obtained from the placement of the sums initially invested in this medium up to the date of surrender of the contract. It follows that the limitation period for the action for compensation for such damage begins at…