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GBU 3302 02SPRING 2015Paper 3Commercial Law, Commercial Courts
& ChecksTeam MembersAsmaa AtoufSanae Ben OuardiAmal
BouguerchAli DrissiAnouar Louziri
Table ofContentsTable of Contents2I.Introduction3II. What are
Commercial Courts?4a)The Commercial Code in Morocco4b)The
Commercial Courtsin Morocco5a)Procedure in Commercial Courts and
the Appeal Process6II. Commercial Papers7Commercial Papers: A
Definition7III. Checks9a)Checks: A definition9b)History of
Checks9c)Characteristics of Checks10d)Different Types of
Checks11e)Advantages & Disadvantages of Checks12f)Courts that
Deal with Checks14IV. Analysis of the Case Pizza Hut vs. Dominos
Pizza14V. Conclusion17VI. References18
Introduction
This paper is a way for us to shed some light on commercial
courts and check, in the hopes of ending up with a better
understanding on the mechanisms behind them.The first part of this
paper will be about commercial courts, the courts created for
businesspeople and foreign investors that deal with business
disputes between companies. A recent example we have seen in the
news is the Moroccan YNNA Holding vs the French 5 FCB who had to go
to a Moroccan commercial court to try and find a solution to their
dispute. We will start off by introducing commercial law in
Morocco. We will then move on to commercial courts in Morocco and
the kind of cases/ problems commercial courts deal with, the
procedure followed in these courts, and finally talk a little bit
about the appeal process.The second part of the paper will be
concerning an important means of payment called checks. We will
start off by introducing the four main commercial papers. We will
then move on to checks, discussing their advantages and
disadvantages, characteristics, types and features.Thethird and
last part of the paper,will be thecase analysis. This time, it is
about two companies by the names of Dominos Pizza and Pizza
Hut.Domino's Pizza did some work for Pizza Hut and,asapayment,
Pizza hut gave a check of 1MillionMAD to Dominos Pizza. The day on
which Pizza Hut gave the check was Feb10th, 2015. Then, the
directorof Pizza Hut toldthe people of Domino's tohold the check
until April 1st, 2015 and to not deposit itbecause of some
financial problems they had. When April 1st came, Domino'sPizza
went to deposit the check and, to its surprise,was told by the bank
that there were no sufficient funds to cover for the check.We will
try and solve the problem, explaining what are the different
choices given to Dominos to claim its rights.
II.What are Commercial Courts?The Commercial Code in Morocco
Commercial Lawis a branch of private law which regulates the
activities of trade, production, distribution and services. It
includestrade(activities of exchange and production), businesses
and also industrial activities such asbanking, insurance, and all
the services available to consumers.The mainactors areindividual
traders, as well as othercompanies that are known under thename of
Commercial Enterprises.The first Moroccan Commercial Code (based on
the Napoleonic Code of 1807) was founded on the 12th August 1913,
but was replaced in 1996 by a new Code (Law No. 15-95 promulgated
by Dahir 1st August 1996).The new Commercial Codeis divided into 5
major themes:The merchant:it gives explanations related to the
different activities of the merchants.
Goodwill:analysis of the goodwill and all related conflicts.
Commercial paper:it is related to activities of buying and
selling.
Commercial contract:it discusses all actions related to
contracts.
Difficulties of the company:it explains the different
obstaclesthat companies face and the ways thesehindrances can be
solved.
Concerning women, Moroccos commercial code and its obligations
and contracts code provided women withthe right to start a business
and enter into acontract of employment without herhusband's
authorization.In spite of these advances, women owners of
businesses or commercial enterprises represent only 0.8 percent of
the total female workforce (compared to the 4.6 percent of the male
workforce who own businesses). Women employers likewise represent
only 5 percent of all employers and are concentrated in agriculture
(30 percent) and in the crafts and services sector (20 percent).
Personal and family capital is the main source of financing for 77
percent of woman-run businesses, and only 12 percent of them use
bank loans. In rural areas, a major obstacle to the creation of
woman-run businesses is the difficulty of gaining access to land
and to loans thatis why the MoroccanCommercial Codegivesthe right
to women to start up a new business without intervention of
anybody.The Commercial Courtsin Morocco
Commercial courts were created for businesspeople as well as
foreign investors to deal with business-related issues or disputes
between companies. Commercialcourtsin Moroccowere created by Law
No. 53.95 on January 6, 1997, ratified by Dahir No. 1.97.65 Sharif
on February 2, 1997. These courts have begun in practice since
1998, and are divided into two categories: commercial courtsand
commercial courts of appeal.The establishment of commercial courts
was among the legislative reforms in recent years that have
targeted businessandtrade,and began the promulgationof a number of
laws among them the Law 39 - 89 of 21-9-1993 on privatization, the
law concerning the organization of the money market and stock
exchange, the law on securities, the law of credit institutions and
the accounting systemcited by theDahir 9-1 25-12-1992 -138.Hereare
some dates that followthe creation of the commercial court:Dahir
No.1-02-108of 13 June 2002promulgating theLaw No.18-02supplementing
LawNo.53-95establishingcommercial courts
Dahir No.1-07-169of 15 November 2007promulgatingLaw
No.08-05repealing and replacingChapter VIII of TitleV of theCode of
Civil Procedure;
Dahir No. 1-11-14 of 18 February 2011 promulgating Law No. 16-10
supplementing Law No. 53-95 establishing commercial courts.
There are eight Commercial Courts, locatedin Agadir, Casablanca,
Fes, Marrakech, Meknes, Oujda,Rabat, and Tangier, and there are
three commercial courts of appeal located in Casablanca, Fez, and
Marrakech.Appealsfrom the Commercial Courts are received by one of
three CommercialCourts mentioned above.Approximately 62% of all of
Moroccos commercial cases are handled by the Commercial Court of
Casablanca (CCC). According tosomestatistics,approximately 2.5
million court judgments wererenderedin Morocco in 2006, 116,253 of
which were in the Commercial Courts. Of those, 71,661 took place
inthe CCC. Notwithstanding the immensecaseload of the Commercial
Courts, they use no formal mechanism for court-annexed mediation.
Nevertheless, pragmatism and necessity have given rise to ad hoc
solutions.Commercial courts have jurisdiction over the
following:
1 - Actions relating to commercial contracts.2 - Action among
traders in connection with their business.3 - Actions relating to
negotiable instruments.4 - Dispute among shareholders of a
corporation.5 - Dispute due to goodwill.Procedure in Commercial
Courts and the Appeal Process
The Commercial Court is provided in writing and signed by a
lawyer registered with one of the bars of Morocco query. Queries
are recorded on a register for this purpose.After the payment of
the legal court fees, the clerkthenissues a receipt withthe
applicant's name, the date of filing the petition, the register
number and the number and nature of attachments and inserts a copy
of the said receipt on file. Upon registration of the application,
the presiding judge designatesa judge to which the record is
transmitted within twenty-four hours.The partiesare then directed
to the nearest audience anda dateis setfor the hearing.After
hearing the facts, the Commercial Court fixes the date of delivery
ofjudgement.The appeal court judgments starts taking place
within15days starting from the date of notification of the
judgment,followingthe provisions of the code of civil procedure,
subject to the provisions on appeals against judgments on
non-jurisdiction. The call request is deposited at the Registry of
the Commercial Court which transmits it along other documents to
the appellantcourt within a maximum period of15days starting from
the date of filing the appeal request. The defendant isthenasked to
pay the amount required within a deadline of 10 days.The types of
law suits being the specialty of the commercial courts:
Article 5of the royal Dahir that created the commercial Court
specifies the lawsuits that can be brought in the commercial court
and they are the following:All the disputes that are about
commercial contract must be brought in commercial court: banking,
shipping contract.
The dispute related to commercial papers such as checks, letter
of exchange (traite)
The disputes that arise between merchants related to their
commercial activities.
The dispute between partners in a commercial company.
Disputes related to: lefond de commerce it is separatedfrom
ownership of the property and can be registered in the commercial
court.
The exceptions are:All car accidents do not go to commercial
court. These cases will be decided by the lower court where the
accident tookplace.
All labor dispute cases will not be decided in commercial
courts.
Article 6: States that if the amount of the dispute is 900MAD or
less, then the decision of the commercial court is final. 2 years
ago, the Moroccan parliament passed a law that increased this
amount to 20,000MADArticle 18: Mentions the period for appeal in
commercial courts within 15 days starting he day of notification.
The procedure in commercial court: the lawsuit starts by a written
statement to the president of the commercial court where the
defendant resides. It is signed by a lawyer accepted to practice
law in Morocco.II.Commercial PapersCommercial Papers: A
Definition
Commercial papers are unsecured, short-term debt instrument
issued by corporations for the financing of accounts receivable,
inventories and meeting short-term liabilities. By unsecured, this
means that the commercial paper is generally not backed by
collateral that are the pledge from a borrower of a specific
property to a lender. This implies that only corporations with high
quality debt ratings will be able to borrow money easily using
commercial papers. Moreover, corporations use this financial
instrument to finance their operations because rates of interest
are lower than the ones of long-term debt instruments issued by
banks. A commercial paper also promises the repayment of the debt
in a specific datethat usually does not exceed two hundred and
seventy days counting from the day of issuance.There are four types
of commercial papers: promissory notes, drafts, certificate of
deposits, and checks:*Promissory note:it is a legal documentation
or record of a transaction where money is loaned or owed from one
party to another. There are two parties in a promissory note: the
maker and the payee. The maker is the party who promises a payment
whereas; the payee is the party to whom a payment is promised.
There are two types of promissory notes: payable on demand and time
note. In a promissory note payable on demand, the payee can redeem
it whenever he wants when, on the other hand, a time note states a
specific date of payment for the payee to receive the
money.*Draft:it a negotiable instrument in writing also called bill
of exchange. There are three parties in a draft. The first party or
drawer orders a second party, the drawee, to pay a specific amount
of money to the third party, the payee. This instrument is commonly
used in businesses to receive payment for shipped products over
long distances. One difference between draft and promissory note is
that the drawer does not explicitly pledge to pay. However, it is
comparable to a note as it can be payable on demand or at a
specific date.*A certificate of deposit:also known as a CD is the
recognition by a bank of an acquisition of an amount of money. This
amount of money is made from a depositor, in this casethe payee,
for a stated length of time and at a definite interest rate. In
this case, the bank is at the same time the drawee and the maker.
Both firms and individuals can use certificate of deposits as
savings tools.In Morocco, commercial papers havent been used until
recently. Corporations running under the Moroccan law have only
been able to use this kind of debt instrument for their short-term
financing since 1995. However, there are some conditions to use
commercial papers. The company issuing a commercial paper must have
certified financial statements for their three last years of
activity. Further, firms must have a capital greater than 5 million
dirham. In addition, the use of commercial papers is restricted,
Moroccan firms have to issue commercial papers with a minimum
amount of 100,000 dirhams and the maturity has to range between ten
daysand one year. Under the article 5 of the royal Dahir, all the
disputes related to commercial papers can be brought to the
commercial court.The fourth type which ischecksis discussed in the
following section.III.ChecksChecks: A definition
A check is a written, dated and signed instrument that contains
an unconditional order from the drawer that directs a bank to pay a
specific amount of money to a payee. It is also a kind of a
commercial paper, as stated earlier. Therefore, a check is piece of
paper written by a drawer and representing a mean of payment. It is
also ordering a specific bank (the one where the drawer has his or
her bank account) to transfer a certainamount of money to the
drawee or in other words, to the party for which the check was
written. Hence, checkscan serve as means of proof.History of
Checks
Regarding the development of this instrument over time, checks
started as a convenient form of payment between local merchants in
the eastern Mediterranean. In the sixteenth-century, checks became
more common in Europe. Around 1740, the abolition of banknotes
promoted the use of checks in England. In 1826, first checks were
emitted by la Banque de France under the name of Mandats Blancs. In
February 14, 1826, checks were created in France. The
nineteenth-century legislation in the United States led to a
nationwide check payment and decreased the use of other means of
payment. In the twentieth century, the use of checks increased very
quickly thanks to the Federal Reserve System.In Morocco, the use of
checks is regulated by the Commercial Code of August 1996. Articles
239-240 of the Commercial Code mention the essential and required
elements for a check to be valid. The general rule, apart from few
exceptions, is that if one of the checks elements stated in these
articles is missing, the check is voided. In this case, the drawee
will not beable to collect the money. To avoid this case, a check
needs to disclose the name of the drawer as well as the exact place
where the money needs to be withdrawn. A check also needs to
indicate the date and place where the drawer wrote the check.
Articles 241 to 247 explain the steps or process to withdraw the
money by the drawee, as well as to check certification. for
example, article 242 states that the drawer and the drawee can
require a certified check, meaning a check where the bank has
checked that the amount stated is available for a definite period
of time.Characteristics of Checks
Checks have different characteristics:A check has three
parties:(Drawer)is a person who draws a check; the(Drawee)is a bank
on whom a check is drawn; and the(Payee)which is a person in whose
favor a check is drawn
A Check is an instrument in writing: It must be in writing. It
can be written in ink pen, ball point pen, typed or even printed.
Oral orders are not considered as check.
The Check contains an unconditional order: Every check contains
an unconditional order issued by the customer to his bank. It does
not contain a request for payment. A check with conditional orders
is dishonored by the bank.
The Check is drawn by a customer on his bank: A check is always
drawn on a specific bank mentioned therein. Checks drawn by
stranger are of no meaning. Check book facility is made available
only to account holder who are supposed to maintain certain minimum
balance in the account.
The Check must be signed by customer: A check must be signed by
customer (Account holder). Unsigned checks or signed by persons
other than customers are not regarded as check.
The Check must be payable on demand: A check when presented for
payment must be paid on demand. If check is made payable after the
expiry of a certain period of time then it will not be a check.
The Check must mention exact amount to be paid: Check must be
for money only. The amount to be paid by the banker must be
certain. It must be written in words and figures.
The payee must be certain to whom payment is made: The payee of
the check should be certain whom the payment of a check is to be
made (real or artificial person). The name of the payee must be
written on the check or it can be made payable to bearer.
The Check must be duly dated by customer of bank: It must be
dated by the customer of bank. The check must indicate clearly the
date, month and the year. A check is valid for a period of three
months from the date of issue.
Different Types of Checks
1. Bearer Check:When the words "or bearer" appearing on the face
of the check are not cancelled, the check is called a bearer check.
The bearer-check is payable to the person specified therein or to
any other else who presents it to the bank for payment. However,
such checks arerisky;this is because if such checks are lost, the
finder of the check can collect payment from the bank.2. Order
Check:When the word "bearer" appearing on the face of a check is
cancelled and when in its place the word "or order" is written on
the face of the check, the check is called an order check. Such a
check is payable to the person specified therein as the payee, or
to any one else to whom it is endorsed (transferred).3. Uncrossed
Check:When a check is not crossed, it is known as an "Open Check"
or an "Uncrossed Check". The payment of such a check can be
obtained at the counter of the bank. An open check may be a bearer
check or an order one.4. Crossed Check:Crossing of check means
drawing two parallel lines on the face of the check with or without
additional words like "& CO." or "Account Payee" or "Not
Negotiable". A crossed check cannot be turned into cash at the cash
counter of a bank but it can only be credited to the payee's
account.5. Anti-Dated Check:If a check bears a date earlier than
the date on which it is presented to the bank, it is called as
"anti-dated check". Such a check is valid up to three months from
the date of the check.6. Post-Dated Check:If a check bears a date
which is yet to come (future date) then it is known as post-dated
check. A post-dated check cannot be honored earlier than the date
on the check.7. Stale Check:If a check is presented for payment
after three months from the date of the check it is called stale
check. A stale check is not honored by the bank.
A bank check can be a:
Bank money orders and personal money order:There are three
parties to a money order: theremitter (payor),thepayee, and
thedrawee. Another form of check now used and sold bybanks,
merchants, and others is the personal money order, or register
check. Whereas bank money orders are often signed on behalf of the
issuing bank, personal money orders generally have a resemblance to
ordinary checks and are issued with unfilled blanks for thename of
the payee, the date, and the signature of the purchaser. Only the
amount is filled out at the time of issue and that is often done by
check writer impression.Government check or warrant:Instruments
payable on demand and drawn by the government, or on the government
(i.e. Treasurer of the United States) are generally regarded as
government checks. Warrants issued by a state or local government
or governmental agencies are also treated as checks if they are
payable on demand.Cashiers Check:A check drawn by the bank on
itself, rather than on a drawers account, which constitutes the
banks (1) promise to pay the payee on presentment and (2)
assumption ofliability if the bank fails to pay.Travelers Check:A
check, often used as a substitute for cash, that is (1) drawn on or
payable through abank and (2) payable on demand by the holder. A
travelers check does not require the holder to present it to the
drawee bank for payment.Certified Check:A check that has been
accepted by the drawee bank prior to presentment (indeed, often at
the time it is issued). By certifying the check, the bank assumes
all liability for failure to pay the check on
presentment.Advantages & Disadvantages of Checks
Advantages of Using Checks
1. Portability:Paper checks effortlessly fit into your purse or
jeans pocket. For ladies, numerous wallets have an area for your
checkbook, while men might simply need a durable checkbook cover.
In any case, it is stand out thing to be conveyed and kept up with,
instead of various credit or debit cards with which to contend.2.
Convenience:Indeed, even places that don't acknowledge credit or
debit cards quite often acknowledge paper checks. A few companies,
particularly smaller, are just not breakthrough intheir systems for
payment. With paper checks, firms will normally request more
information than they will get with a debit card, (for example,
your driver's license number and phone number). This makes checks
more appealing to businesses, which makes them easier to use.3.
Paper Documentation:Try verifying that you have duplicate checks.
Along these lines, each check you compose is automatically
duplicated. You can have a precise record becauseof the carbon
copies behind each check. This proves to be useful when you are
attempting to remember the last check you composed or need to
recall your bank statement with your checkbook program. It is
likewise useful on the off chance that you have been composing
numerous checkslately and have not had sufficient enough time to
enter each and every one into your register when you composed it.
Likewise, a few individuals simply like to have printed copies of
everything, and duplicate checks offer that.4. Online Transaction
Details:Some banks that offer online banking, offer in addition,
the alternative for you to tap on the check number in your online
bank statement, and afterward see a smaller variant of your check.
This is greatly helpful regardless of the fact that you don't have
duplicate checks. This is likewise useful if you are ever a victim
of fraud; you can take a look at the checks and see everything that
was written down on your check, including the mark or signature
utilized. This comparison can help demonstrate that you were victim
of fraud.5. Security:It issafer to use checks than cash because you
keep records of the transaction and the money is transferred
between the banks involved. It has also your signature which is not
easy to duplicate.Difficulties Faced with the Check
From the Moroccan Penal Code:* Article 540:One, in order to
procure a third party with an illegitimate financial gain,
ingeniously misleads a person by false statements or by suppression
or disguise of the true facts or cleverly abuses of the error where
there was a person and determines it as prejudicial acts to his
pecuniaryinterests or those of others, is guilty of fraud and
punishable by imprisonment of one to five years and a fine of 500
to 5.000 dirhams.* Article 543:One is punished by the penalties
publicized in the first paragraph of the article 540, without the
fine being lower than the amount of the check or thedeficiency,
whoever of bad faith:1- Either, he hand out a check without initial
and available endowment or with a endowment lower than the amount
of the check, or removed after the issuance all or part of the
endowment, or prevented the drawee from paying;2- Agreed to obtain
a check issued as provided in the previous paragraph.* Article
544:One is punished by the penalties publicized in the first
paragraph of the article 540, without the fine being lower than the
amount ofthe check, anyone who issues or accepts a check on the
condition that it is not immediately cashed but kept as guarantee.*
Article 545:One ispunished by the penalties publicized in the
Articles 357 or 358, following the differences specified in those
articles anyone who:> Fakes or falsifies a check;> Agrees to
receive a check he knew counterfeited or falsified.Courts that Deal
with Checks
Commercial courts have jurisdiction over disputes between
traders; limited jurisdiction, while civil lawsuits fall within the
jurisdiction of courts of general jurisdiction (courts of first
instance). If the dispute is between a trader and a civil party,
the priority and the right to choose the competent court that will
decide the dispute is decided by the person who filed the
lawsuit.IV.Analysis of the Case Pizza Hut vs. Dominos Pizza
Pizza Hut and Domino's Pizza. Domino's Pizza did some work for
Pizza Hut and as payment, Pizza hut gavethema check of 1Million
MAD. The day on which Pizza Hut gave the check was Feb 10th, 2015.
Then, the director of Pizza Hut told the people of Domino's
"Please, hold the check until April 1st, 2015 and do not deposit
it" because of some financial problems they had. When April 1st
came, to their surprise, Domino'sPizzawastold by the bank that
there were no sufficient funds to cover for the check. What are
then thechoices given to Domino's Pizza? Is this case criminal,
commercial or both? Is it legal to hold a check?As stated before,
everything seems to belegitimate according to Morocco'scommercial
law. This said, thepracticeof giving out checksis common between
companies and is considered as a payment facility between both
parties. In general, cashing the check is done without any problem
according to terms that are pre-defined. However, in this specific
case which is thecase between Dominos Pizza and Pizza Hut, the
check has been made without provision.The article 544 of the
Moroccan criminal law states that it is strictly illegal to give or
receive a check with theintentof not depositing the check until a
given date as a mean of caution (Code Pnal, 2011). Another article
of the same code, which is article 540, indicates that contracted
parties in such crimes are subject to 5 years of jail as well as a
penalty at least equal to the amount of the written check (Code
Pnal, 2011).Both articles are very clear andspecificregarding the
payment of checks. Giving checks asamean of delayed payment and not
as an immediate payment is viewed asa crime when no sufficient
proofs are put forward,meaning thatboth Pizza Hut and Dominos pizza
are held responsible according to the article 544 of the Moroccan
criminal law. Here, when Dominospizza wanted to cash the check, it
noticed that Pizza Hut did not have sufficient funds to honor the
engagement.Even though Dominos pizza is guilty and violated the
law, itwould behard to prove so because no sufficient evidence can
be found as both infringed the law.According to the Moroccan
commercial law, the article 268 indicates that checks have to be
deposited for cashing outaftera period of less than 20 days
starting from the day of issuance. The date of issuance is, by law,
the same day declared on the check. To illustrate more, in this
case, Dominos pizza has deposited the check on April, 1st, which is
exactly 50 days after the date of issuing the check. It is clear
that Dominos pizza has exceeded the deadline set by the law which
is 20 days and hence has violated both the 264thof the 268th
articles of the commercial law.However, we should not forget that
the check is still valid for one year starting from issuance date.
Soeven if Dominos pizza accepted the request of Pizza Hut and chose
to deposit the check 50 days later,Dominos Pizzais still entitled
to that money and is still able tocashthe check under the Moroccan
commercial law. There is no explicit sanction for such violation
according to the commercial law but it is potential to find
penalties for that. Dominos Pizza still needs to get paid by Pizza
Hut even if it is going through some financial issues and Dominos
pizza must follow a certain procedure to recoverbackthecheck
issued.Dominos Pizza should first inform Pizza Hut that the check
issued in their favor has not been cashed because of defaulting or
rejection before proceeding into any lawsuit. This notification can
be done officially and should be written. If, by any chance, Pizza
Hut accepts to supply its account with enough funds, which in this
case is the amount of 1 Million MAD, thepayment can be made and the
dispute can be solved in a friendly manner. If this is not the
case, and Pizza hut rejects to cooperate and does not put the 1
Million Mad in its account, theDominos Pizza can bring a lawsuit
against Pizza hut. Dominos Pizza has a deadline of one year to
start the legal procedure. During this period, the contracted
parties may end up finding a solution that pleases them both.
Otherwise, the beneficiary can start a lawsuit. This case is one
example of many identical cases that have happened in Morocco and
worldwide. According to the Moroccan commercial law, issuers of
non-sufficient fund checks should honor the issued check. If it is
not the case, the issuer which is Pizza Hut in our case, is subject
to a penalty and imprisonment. When the issuer is nota physical
person, the penalties are usually higher and the court has the
right to seize some of the assets of the company who issued the
check to honor the cashing out of payment.The bank can provide
Dominos Pizza with a document calledProttin French that
provesthatthere were no sufficient resources to cash the check.
Thisway, Dominos Pizza can proceedto filing alawsuit. The
beneficiary can bring a lawsuit to the city where Pizza Huts
headquarters are located. After starting the lawsuit, Pizza Hut
must provide to the judge evidence that funds were expected to be
its account at the time fixed by both parties and that this actof
not having funds on the expected cashing datewas not intentional.
If the defendant cannotprove the facts, the court will givea period
of 30 days for the issuer to honor the check and pay the money
back. If the issuer of the check failstohonor the check, then the
court appliesla saisiewhich is the seizure of some or all the
issuers assets in order tocompensate forthe payments amount.
According to the Moroccan commercial law, the article 314 of the
commercial law states that a fine of 5% of the value of the
non-sufficient fund check has to be paid ifthe violator has no
antecedents. In case of previous antecedents, the fine can go
uptill 20% of thevalue of thecheck (Code de Commerce, 1996). With
this being said, the court should check first if Pizza Hut has any
antecedents regarding any identical case, if so the fine which is
expressed as a fraction of the total amount due could reach 20% of
the 1 Million MAD, which is 200,000 MAD. If Pizza Hut has no
antecedents, then the fine required would be 5% of 1 Million MAD
for default payment, which is 50,000 MAD.
V.Conclusion
Through this paper, we were able to have a better understanding
of commercial papers in general (drafts, certificates of deposit
and promissory notes), and checks in particular.We were able to
understand them better after looking at how they first appeared in
history and how they developed after that. We saw some of their
distinguishing features and characteristics, their different types
and the different courts that use them. Checks are safe, easy to
carry and to track. However, through the case study of Dominos
Pizza vs Pizza Hut, we were able to see that it can cause big
problems in case they are used the wrong way (in this case, issuing
a check without having enough provision on the account). This soon
turns a commercial case to a criminal one.Luckily, our penal code
heavily punishes suchacts with penalties that go up
toimprisonmentin case of failure tohonor the issued check.
VI. References
Akrani, G. (2011). What are Features of Checks? Retrieved from
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