CH-NE
2 Private Law - Civil Procedure - Enforcement - 26 Debt Collection and Bankruptcy - 261 Ordinary Procedure - CHAPTER ONE Organization (EGSCHKG)
Table of Provisions (44)
Statutory Text (44 Articles)
[3] 1 The Canton of Neuchâtel constitutes a debt collection district and a bankruptcy administration district.
2. The debt collection district is equipped with a debt collection office headed by the debt collection officer.
3. The bankruptcy administration district is equipped with a bankruptcy office headed by the bankruptcy officer.
4. The seat of each office is designated by the Council of State.
[4] The Council of State may establish
b) one or more specific competence centers.
[5] 1 The Council of State designates the department and service to which the Office of Pursuits and the Office of Bankruptcies are attached.
2. It determines the main tasks and competences of the service.
[6]
[7] The supervision of all prosecution bodies, notably that of the Office of Prosecutions, the Office of Bankruptcies, and the delegated agents, is exercised by two authorities
a) the Civil Court of the Cantonal Tribunal, in its capacity as the higher cantonal supervisory authority;
b) the department designated by the Council of State, in its capacity as the lower cantonal supervisory authority.
[8] 1 The cantonal higher supervisory authority hears appeals against the decisions of the cantonal lower supervisory authority, as well as complaints against the latter for denial of justice or unjustified delay.
2 The cantonal higher supervisory authority handles all matters related to the Federal Tribunal.
3 It is responsible for publishing the clearance of the registers of reservation of ownership agreements.
4 Repealed
[9] 1 The lower cantonal supervisory authority holds all the powers conferred by federal law to the supervisory authority that are not reserved for the upper cantonal supervisory authority.
a) It handles complaints concerning the activities and decisions of the offices. It relies on the State's legal service to prepare and investigate related decisions;
b) It has jurisdiction to rule on requests for extensions of time limits (Art. 270, para. 2 and 247, para. 4, LP);
c) It imposes disciplinary sanctions (Art. 14, para. 2, LP) and sets the remuneration for the ordinary or special administration of bankruptcy (Art. 47, OELP).
1bis In its activities, it relies on the State's legal service to investigate complaints and prepare related decisions.
2. It inspects the debt enforcement office, the bankruptcy office, and special administrations at least once a year, relying on the designated service.
3. It issues necessary directives and publishes them.
4. It publishes annually the guidelines for calculating the subsistence minimum.
5. It rules on applications for authorization to practice professional representation, pursuant to Article 27, paragraph 2, LP.
[10]
[11] 1 The deputies, substitutes, and employees of the offices are subject to the public service status law.
2. The office staff is remunerated according to the salary classification defined by the Council of State.
3. The Council of State may appoint notification agents who are compensated on a per duty basis.
[12] It is prohibited for officials, substitutes, and employees of offices to
a) act in a private capacity as agents or representatives of creditors, debtors, or other interested parties;
b) enter into, for their own account, any transactions involving claims under pursuit or items to be realized.
[13] The Council of State enacts the necessary provisions in the event of absence, impediment, or recusal of both the official and the deputy of the same office.
[14] 1 The liability of the canton for damages caused in the execution of the Federal Act on Debt Collection and Bankruptcy is governed by federal law (Art. 5 to 7 DEBA).
2. The canton's right of recourse against the party causing the damage is governed by the Act on the Liability of Public Authorities and Their Agents (Liability Act) of June 26, 1989 [15], subject to contrary provisions in this Act.
[16] 1 The special administration of bankruptcy, decided by the creditors, must promptly inform the lower cantonal supervisory authority of its appointment.
2. It must comply with the provisions of Articles 97 and 98 OAOF. It shall promptly send copies of the minutes of the meetings it holds with its supervisory commission to the designated service.
3. Public auctions of movable and immovable property are conducted by the bankruptcy officer.
4. The canton’s recourse action against the liable party in a special administration of bankruptcy may also be initiated in cases of minor negligence.
5. The sanctions provided against a member of a special administration of bankruptcy or a supervisory commission are those stipulated in Article 14, paragraph 2, LP.
[17] 1 The mandate of legal management is granted by the competent authority. The legal manager must be independent of the pursued or bankrupt party, and must not act as an agent for creditors or debtors of the pursued or bankrupt party. Within the scope of his mandate, he cannot enter into any contract in his own interest, either directly or indirectly. The manager must possess adequate professional qualifications and a sound financial standing. Every legal management mandate involves the opening of a separate account for each property, the submission of quarterly statements, and the quarterly payment of advances to the competent authority.
2 The canton’s right of recourse against the legal manager may also apply in cases of minor faults.
[18] 1. Any banking institution subject to the Federal Law on Banks and Savings Banks of November 8, 1934, and having its headquarters, branch, or agency in the canton may be designated as a depository bank for deposits and consignments.
2. The Office of Debt Enforcement and the Bankruptcy Office are authorized to deposit sums of money into a postal check account.
3. Unless legally exempted, the remuneration of the funds benefits the State.
[19] 1 The Civil Court is competent to make all decisions assigned to the judge, the judge for removal of a seizure, the bankruptcy judge, the sequestration judge, the concordat judge, or the court, which fall under the law of debt enforcement and bankruptcy.
2. It is competent to order the revocation of the liquidation by way of bankruptcy of a repudiated estate (Art. 196 DEBA).
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
[24]
[25]
[26] 1 The supervisory authority is approached by means of a complaint.
2. The complaint is submitted, with supporting documents, to the supervisory authority. If it is filed in paper form, the complaint must be signed and submitted, along with its annexes, in three copies.
3. It must be substantiated.
[27] 1. The supervisory authority shall communicate the complaint to the parties if it is necessary for the preservation of their rights, setting a deadline for them to respond.
2. It shall provide a copy to the designated service.
3. The office may, until the submission of its response, conduct a new examination of the challenged decision. If it takes a new measure, it shall promptly notify the parties and inform the supervisory authority and the designated service.
[28] Subject to the five-day period provided for in Article 20 LP, the supervisory authority shall make a decision within thirty days following the close of the investigation.
For the remainder, the procedure is governed by Article 20a of the Debt Enforcement and Bankruptcy Act (DEBA) and, subsidiarily, by the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) of March 18, 2025 [29].
[30]
[31]
[32]
[33]
[34]
The Official Gazette is the cantonal authority responsible for the publication of notices required by federal law.
[36] The debt collection office maintains a register of debtors against whom definitive certificates of unpaid debts have been issued within the meaning of Articles 115 and 149 of the DEBA. The right to consultation is governed by Article 8a of the DEBA.
[37]
[38]
[39] 1 To ensure adequate publicity for the sale, the agent may, as necessary, proceed with additional publications, particularly in the local press or through other communication channels.
2. The agent determines the form and content of these publications, especially those made electronically.
[40] 1 In the distribution of funds, claims arising from public law that are secured by a legal mortgage registered in the land registry in accordance with Articles 836 of the Swiss Civil Code and 99 of the Act on the Introduction of the Swiss Civil Code (LI-CC), dated March 22, 1910 [41], take precedence over other privileged claims.
2. They are all of the same rank.
[42] At the same time as he files the transfer of the property with the land register, the official reports to the competent authority in taxation and collection of transfer duties the real estate adjudications he issues.
Decisions of the administrative authorities of the State and municipalities ordering the payment of a sum of money or the establishment of securities shall be equated, once they have become final, with enforceable judgments within the meaning of Article 80 of the Debt Collection and Bankruptcy Act.
[43]
[44] 1 Ongoing prosecutions and bankruptcies at the time of the entry into force of this law are to be immediately taken over by the competent office under the new law, regardless of their stage of advancement.
2. The supervisory authority established under the former law shall rule on complaints that were submitted to it before the entry into force of this law.
The law for the execution of the federal law on debt enforcement and bankruptcy, of March 22, 1910 [45], is repealed.
This law is subject to an optional referendum.
1. The Council of State shall provide, if necessary, for the promulgation and execution of the present law.
2. It shall set the date of its entry into force.
Law promulgated by the Council of State on March 19, 1997.
The entry into force is immediate.