Debt collection in Mali

The debt collection process in Mali begins with a legal and practical assessment of the case: the origin of the debt, the debtor’s legal status, the actual business activity, assets located in Mali, pending court or enforcement proceedings, the strength of documentary evidence, and possible objections to the debt. This assessment helps determine the most appropriate recovery route.

In cases connected with Mali, it is also necessary to determine whether the debt is commercial in nature, whether the debtor is a private company, an individual trader, a public entity, a foreign counterparty, or a business with assets, accounts, receivables, or commercial relationships in Mali.

If the debtor continues to operate, can be contacted, and there are no priority proceedings that immediately reduce the chances of payment, an out-of-court stage may be started. This stage can help clarify the debtor’s position, obtain full or partial payment, agree on a repayment schedule, document an acknowledgment of debt, arrange a set-off, secure the return of goods, or reach another legally useful solution for the creditor.

Correspondence with the debtor, payment notices, replies, payment promises, partial payments, and documents confirming acknowledgment of the debt should be preserved. These materials may be important for assessing the limitation period, proving the debt, and preparing judicial recovery.

If the debtor refuses to pay, remains silent, disputes the debt without sufficient grounds, transfers assets, or is already being pursued by other creditors, the strategy should move to an appropriate contentious route. In Mali, this usually requires assessing ordinary court proceedings, an order for payment, protective measures, enforcement, or collective proceedings if the debtor’s business is in financial difficulty.

The Republic of Mali is a member of the Organization for the Harmonization of Business Law in Africa. For this reason, commercial debt collection in Mali is assessed not only under Malian national law, but also under uniform rules applicable to commercial transactions, simplified recovery procedures, enforcement measures, and collective proceedings for the settlement of liabilities.

This connection between national law and uniform business rules is important from the beginning of the case. The uniform rules determine, in particular, the conditions for an order for payment, protective measures, and enforcement methods, while Malian law remains important for court jurisdiction, summons periods, certain procedural time limits, and matters that have not been harmonized.

For proceedings initiated from 16 February 2024, the updated rules on simplified recovery procedures and enforcement measures must be taken into account. Therefore, an order for payment, protective seizure, and enforcement should be assessed under the current version of these rules.

Before starting judicial recovery, the creditor should verify the limitation period applicable to the debt. Under Malian law, the general limitation period is twenty years, unless a special rule provides for a different period. For obligations arising from commercial transactions between traders, or between traders and non-traders, a five-year period generally applies, unless the specific claim is subject to a shorter period.

The consequences of the expiration of the limitation period may be invoked by the debtor or by another person with a legal interest, including at the appeal stage. The limitation period may be interrupted by acknowledgment of the debt, a court claim, a demand for payment, or an enforcement act. After interruption, the time already elapsed is not counted, and a new period begins to run.

The limitation period may also be suspended by court proceedings, time granted by a judge, by law or by the creditor, legal incapacity, or the creditor’s actual inability to act. Suspension does not erase the time already elapsed; it temporarily stops the running of the period, which continues once the reason for suspension ends.

Judicial debt collection in the Republic of Mali may be carried out through ordinary court proceedings or, where the required conditions are met, through an order for payment.

Ordinary court proceedings begin with the filing of a claim before the competent court. If the claim meets the procedural requirements, the defendant is summoned to appear before the court. The period between the summons and the date set for appearance depends on where the defendant is located.

If the defendant is located at the seat of the court, the minimum period is eight days. If the defendant is located within the court district, the period is fifteen days. If the defendant is outside that court district but within Mali, the period is thirty days. If the defendant is in Africa but outside Mali, the period is two months. If the defendant is outside Africa, the period is three months. The presiding judge may extend these periods or shorten them in urgent cases.

On the appointed day, the parties appear in person or through their representatives. If the defendant does not appear or does not present a proper defence, the court may examine the case under the rules applicable to decisions issued in the defendant’s absence. If both parties appear, the court hears their positions, and the case may be decided immediately or referred to a later hearing.

If the presiding judge considers that the case is not ready for immediate decision, a judge is appointed to prepare the file. At this stage, the exchange of documents may be organized, the parties’ positions may be clarified, the progress of the proceedings may be monitored, conciliation may be attempted, and measures necessary to establish the facts may be ordered. If the nature of the debt requires a technical or financial assessment, an expert examination may also be ordered.

After preparation is completed, the judge prepares a report and transfers the case to the presiding judge for decision. At the hearing, the court examines the evidence, the existence of the debt, its amount, its due date, claimed interest or penalties, the debtor’s defences, and any other claims of the parties.

An order for payment is a simplified procedure for recovering a certain, quantifiable, and due monetary debt. It may be used for debts arising from a contract, a commercial instrument, or a cheque without sufficient funds.

To initiate this procedure, the creditor files an application with the competent court and attaches documents proving the debt. The application must identify the parties, state the exact amount claimed, break down the components of the debt, and explain the basis of the claim. If the creditor is not domiciled in the state of the court before which the application is filed, the creditor must indicate an address for service within that court district.

The president of the competent court or the appointed judge decides within three days from the filing of the application. If the claim appears fully or partially justified, an order for payment is issued for the accepted amount. If the application is rejected in whole or in part, the decision must be reasoned and cannot be appealed by the creditor; however, the creditor may still bring the claim through ordinary court proceedings.

A certified copy of the application and the order for payment must be served on the debtor at the creditor’s initiative by an out-of-court act. The order loses effect if it is not served within three months from its date.

After service, the debtor has ten days to pay the amount stated in the order, together with the indicated interest and costs, or to file an objection. This period may be extended where distance-related time limits apply.

If the debtor does not file an objection within the applicable period or withdraws the objection, the creditor may request that the order be made enforceable. This request must be filed within two months after the expiry of the objection period or after the debtor’s withdrawal. Once made enforceable, the order for payment has the effects of a decision issued in adversarial proceedings and may be enforced.

If the debtor files an objection, it must be notified to the interested parties, the enforcement body, and the registry of the court that issued the order. The debtor must also summon the parties to appear before the competent court on a date that cannot be later than thirty days from the objection. The court appoints a judge to attempt conciliation within fifteen days from that appointment. If an agreement is reached, the conciliation record may be made enforceable. If no agreement is reached, the case is referred to the nearest public hearing, and the court decides within two months from the first hearing. The decision on the objection replaces the original order for payment.

The appeal procedure depends on the type of proceedings and the nature of the decision. In national court proceedings, the ordinary remedies are appeal and objection. The time limit is fifteen days for an appeal and eight days for an objection. The period for an ordinary remedy suspends enforcement of the judgment, and a remedy filed within that period also has suspensive effect.

After a decision of the court of appeal or a decision issued at last instance, a cassation appeal may be filed with the Supreme Court of Mali if the legal conditions are met. In civil matters, the cassation appeal is filed by a declaration at the registry of the court that issued the contested decision. The time limit is two months from notification of the decision if it was issued in adversarial proceedings. If the decision was issued in default, this period starts when objection is no longer admissible.

A cassation appeal before the Supreme Court of Mali is not a new hearing on the facts. Its purpose is to verify whether the lower courts correctly applied the law. The Supreme Court of Mali may dismiss the appeal, quash the decision and refer the case to a competent court, or quash the decision without referral if no new decision on the merits is required.

A decision issued on an objection to an order for payment follows a special appeal regime. Unless national law provides otherwise, it may be appealed within fifteen days. If the decision was issued in adversarial proceedings, the period runs from its pronouncement; if it was issued in default, the period runs from service.

An appeal against a decision issued on an objection to an order for payment is filed by an out-of-court act served on the other party and on the registry of the court that issued the decision. The registry transmits the file to the competent court of appeal within ten days after service of the appeal act. The court of appeal decides within two months from the first hearing.

Where the dispute concerns the interpretation or application of uniform business law rules, cassation review may fall within the jurisdiction of the common court responsible for ensuring their uniform application. Malian courts examine the case at first instance and on appeal, while issues concerning the uniform application of harmonized business law should be distinguished from purely national cassation review.

If the creditor already has a court judgment issued outside Mali or an arbitral award, the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments should be assessed before measures are directed against the debtor’s assets in Mali.

Foreign judgments may be enforced in Mali after they have been declared enforceable in the country. Arbitral awards may also serve as a basis for enforcement if they have been declared enforceable by a court decision of the state where they are invoked and that decision is not subject to a remedy with suspensive effect.

For a foreign creditor, this stage makes it possible to transform a title obtained outside Mali into a basis for action against the debtor’s bank accounts, receivables, movable property, real estate, securities, or rights held by third parties in Mali. Service of the decision, its enforceability, the absence of a public policy obstacle, and the actual possibility of locating assets in Mali are decisive elements.

After a court judgment, an enforceable order for payment, or a foreign decision declared enforceable in Mali enters into force, the creditor may initiate enforcement proceedings.

At the enforcement stage, the creditor’s claims may be satisfied by seizing funds in the debtor’s bank accounts, attaching the debtor’s receivables from third parties, seizing and selling movable or immovable property, seizing securities, attaching corporate rights, or seizing property that belongs to the debtor but is held by another person.

Enforcement may also reach electronic money if the debtor can dispose of it by withdrawal, payment, or transfer. This is relevant in cases where the debtor’s financial flows do not pass only through traditional bank accounts.

The choice of enforcement measure depends on the available title, the amount of the debt, the nature of the located assets, and the risk of challenge. The measure used should not exceed what is necessary to obtain payment or preserve the creditor’s rights.

If the debtor is the state, a territorial authority, a public institution, or another public-law legal entity, special rules apply. A certain, quantifiable, and due debt that is acknowledged or established by an enforceable title may be entered into the relevant accounts and budget after an unsuccessful three-month demand for payment.

In Mali cases, the practical effectiveness of enforcement often depends on the ability to identify truly attachable assets before or immediately after obtaining an enforceable title. A favourable judgment is an important stage, but the enforcement strategy should target accounts, receivables, property, or economic relationships capable of producing actual payment.

Another way to protect the creditor’s interests may be connected with collective proceedings involving the debtor. In the Republic of Mali, such proceedings may include conciliation, preventive settlement, judicial reorganization, or liquidation of assets, depending on the financial condition of the business.

The creditor may be affected by these proceedings if the claim is certain, quantifiable, and due, and the debtor can no longer meet due obligations with available assets. In this situation, the strategy is not limited to obtaining an individual court decision: the creditor should also preserve its ranking, file the claim, monitor decisions in the collective proceedings, and assess their effect on individual recovery actions.

If the debtor’s assets are insufficient to fully satisfy creditors’ claims, certain acts carried out during the suspect period may be challenged where they unjustifiably reduce the available estate. Such acts may include gratuitous transfers of property, agreements where the debtor’s obligations significantly exceed those of the other party, early payment of debts that are not yet due, granting security for previously incurred debts, and transactions concluded with persons who knew that the debtor had ceased payments.

The ineffectiveness or cancellation of such acts may allow property or assets to return to the available estate. This may increase the estate intended to satisfy creditors’ claims and cover the costs of the collective proceedings.

In serious cases, management liability may also be assessed. Such liability may arise where company property was used as personal property, loss-making activity was continued to the detriment of creditors, assets were concealed, or management conduct contributed to the insufficiency of assets.

For debt collection in Mali, Grandliga supports creditors at all stages of the case: analysis of the debt and the debtor, out-of-court strategy, preparation of court proceedings, an application for an order for payment, handling of appeals, use of foreign decisions in Mali, enforcement proceedings, identification of attachable assets, and assessment of risks connected with collective proceedings. The objective is to structure the claim legally, choose the appropriate recovery route, and protect the creditor’s rights up to the enforcement stage.

# DEBT COLLECTION AGENCY MALI   

22.11.2024

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