Public Procurement Pledge Notification in Tunisia: Bailiff Service & Legal Requirements
Complete guide on serving official notifications of public procurement pledges in Tunisia: bailiff service, enforceability against public accountants, and bank finance security.
Direct Answer: What is public procurement pledge notification in Tunisia?
In Tunisia, when a government contractor pledges its public procurement receivables to a financial institution or commercial bank for credit financing, the security interest must be formally served upon the designated Public Accountant (Comptable Public) via an official bailiff notification deed along with the original unique copy (exemplaire unique). This requirement follows from Decree No. 2014-1039 of March 13, 2014 on public procurement, Articles 201 et seq. of the Code of Obligations and Contracts, and Article 13 of Organic Law No. 2018-9 of January 30, 2018, which reserves such formal notifications to the judicial bailiff (huissier de justice). Without this formal bailiff service, the pledge is legally unenforceable against the administration. The exemplaire unique carries an express mention that it is intended for the pledge, which prevents the same contract from being pledged twice. Once the Public Accountant has registered the pledge, payments under the contract can only be made to the pledgee bank.
The procedure at a glance
| Step | Who | Legal basis |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Check of the exemplaire unique (pledge eligibility mention) | Judicial bailiff | — |
| 2. Drafting of the notification deed (contract, pledgee bank, contractor, secured amount) | Judicial bailiff | Organic Law No. 2018-9 (Art. 13) |
| 3. Service on the assigned Public Accountant, with the exemplaire unique | Judicial bailiff | Decree No. 2014-1039 of March 13, 2014; COC (Art. 201 et seq.) |
| 4. Registration of the pledge | Public Accountant | — |
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Read this guideFrequently Asked Legal Questions
Why is a judicial bailiff mandatory for public procurement pledge notification?
What is the 'exemplaire unique' in a public contract?
Questions regarding this procedure? Contact our Tunis Office
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