Foreign Companies in France. of the company's real property in France, and were guaranteed by The Brewers and General Fire Insuranee and Guarantee Cor poration, Ltd. Meanwhile, a private creditor of the French director who had advanced money to the company obtained a judgment against him, and, as permitted by French law, he registered this judgment as a general mort gage against any real property the debtor might possess; there was other litigation, which does not bear on the point in ques tion. This creditor then applied to the local court to have the company declared null and void as being English only in form, but in reality fraudulently constituted out of France by his debtor, to evade the more rigorous re quirements of French law. Its assets, he alleged, were really those of this particular Frenchman, and as such liable, indiscrimin ately with his private means, to satisfy his debts. The local court did not take this view, but, on appeal to Aix, the higher Court held that " la nationalite d'une societe se determine par le lieu 0u elle a v^ritablement et effectivement son principal 6tablissement, e'est-a-dire le lieu 0u sc manifeste a la fois sa vitality et son existence sociale, dont
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elle fait le centre de ses affaires, en quelque endroit qu'elle soit appelee tant a le suivre qu'ii les traitcr, ou se tiennent habitucllemcnt les reunions de ceux qui la dirigent et sc preoccupent de ses destinies, le lieu, en un mot, ou elle a son principal etablissement qui, dans un grand nombre de cas, peut difterer de celui ou se trouve concentree son exploi tation industrielle ou commerciale." The Court of Cassation in turn was asked to reverse this decision and declare that a British company, formed in accordance with British law, having its registered office in Great Britain, is a company protected by the Anglo-French Convention of 1862, and that a French Court has no right to go be hind the formation of a company so consti tuted. This, however, the Court of Cassa tion refused to do. The circumstances of the case, it may be admitted, were especial, and of course precedents are not binding in France. But in spite of these considerations, the de cision is an ominous one and should be kept in view by any foreign countries that may be negotiating fresh commercial treaties with the French Republic. — Lex.
