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Cessation of maintenance advances under the New York Convention

ATA/323/1997Court of Justice / Administrative ChamberMay 27, 1997Modified

Open source

Extracted by Omnilex

Omnilex summary

The decision holds that, in cases governed by the New York Convention, the authority responsible for maintenance advances may stop those advances once it has sent the Federal Office of Police a complete request containing the information necessary for foreign service and a clear intention to pursue the debtor. A Geneva registration or retained address does not prevent cessation if the debtor has in fact lived abroad for years. However, the stop may only take effect after advances have been paid for three months following that request.

Omnilex headnote

LARPA art. 8a; maintenance advances in New York Convention cases may be discontinued as soon as the authority has transmitted to the Federal Office of Police a complete request containing the data required for service abroad and a clear intention to pursue the debtor. The debtor's formal registration or retained address in Geneva is irrelevant where actual residence abroad is established. The discontinuation nevertheless cannot produce effects before a three-month period has elapsed after the request (consid. 2).

Full text

Descripteurs

OBLIGATION D'ENTRETIEN; AVANCE(EN GENERAL); CONVENTION DE NEW YORK; DOMICILE; DEBITEUR; ETAT ETRANGER; RECOUVREMENT; SUPPRESSION(EN GENERAL); PROCEDURE; IP

Normes

LARPA.8 A

Résumé

Dans les cas où la Convention de New York s'applique, le Scarpa est fondé à prendre la décision de cesser ses avances dès qu'il a adressé à l'Office fédéral de la police une requête comportant les divers renseignements nécessaires à l'établissement de l'acte de poursuite par l'autorité étrangère compétente et son intention claire de faire poursuivre le débiteur. Le fait que le débiteur ait conservé une adresse à Genève et n'ait pas modifié l'indication de son domicile auprès de l'Office cantonal de la population n'est pas relevant, dès lors qu'il est établi qu'il habite à l'étranger depuis plusieurs années. Une telle décision ne peut toutefois sortir ses effets avant que des avances aient été servies pendant trois mois après l'accomplissement de cette démarche.

Keywords

maintenance advancesnew york conventionforeign residenceservice abroaddebtor locationcessation of benefitsminimum period

Extracted by Omnilex

Key legal questions extracted by Omnilex

Key legal question

Whether maintenance advances may cease once the authority has sent the Federal Office of Police the information needed for service abroad and a clear request to pursue the debtor under the New York Convention.

Extracted holding

Yes. The authority may decide to stop the advances as soon as it has submitted the necessary request and information to the Federal Office of Police.

Extracted reasoning

In Convention cases, the decisive act is the transmission of a complete request for foreign service and the express intention to pursue the debtor; the debtor's retained Geneva address and unchanged registration are irrelevant if residence abroad for several years is established.

Key legal question

From which moment the cessation of advances may take effect.

Extracted holding

The cessation cannot take effect before advances have continued for three months after the relevant request was made.

Extracted reasoning

Although the authority may decide to discontinue advances upon filing the request, the legal effects are delayed to ensure a minimum continuation period of three months after that step.

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