Vol 21 (2024) - Issue 4

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To Claim or Not To Claim: Aircraft Owners Are Exempt from Claiming Title in French Insolvency Proceedings

Synopsis
The Commercial Chamber of the French Supreme Court recently ruled1 that here is no requirement for the owner of an aircraft, registered with the French registry held by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation, to make formal claim to title in his aircraft in the insolvency proceedings of the company in charge of the aircraft’s maintenance. The Court further ruled that the aircraft’s registration is equivalent to title to the asset.
The authors briefly outline the statutory regime for claiming title over movable assets in French insolvency proceedings, before addressing the legal grounds of the ruling and considering its possible application to other movable asset classes, also subject to registration in a register, accessible to the public and enabling their owner to be identified.