Chapter Second: Defense of Requiring Prior Proceeding Against the Debtor
Article 1069
Art. 1069 - The guarantee does not entail joint liability, if it is not expressly stipulated. If joint liability has been stipulated or if the guarantee constitutes an act of commerce on the part of the guarantor, the effects of the guarantee are governed by the rules relating to joint obligations between debtors.
Article 1070
Art. 1070 - The creditor has no action against the guarantor unless the principal debtor is in default of performing his obligation.
Article 1071
Art. 1071 - However: 1) if the surety dies before the due date, the creditor has the right to take action against their estate immediately, without waiting for this due date. In this case, the heirs who have paid shall have recourse against the debtor at the due date of the principal obligation; 2) the declared insolvency of the surety causes the debt to fall due with regard to the surety even before the due date of the principal debt; the creditor is authorized, in this case, to have their claim included in the estate; 3) in the case provided for in Article 114, the creditor may only pursue the surety at the expiration of the term that had been agreed upon.
Article 1072
Article 1072 - The guarantor has the right to require at the beginning of the proceedings and before any substantive defense that the creditor first discuss the principal debtor in his property, movable and immovable, by indicating those which are susceptible to execution, provided that they are located in the territories subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of the States under French mandate. In this case, proceedings against the guarantor are suspended until the discussion of the principal debtor's property, without prejudice to conservatory measures that the creditor may be authorized to take against the guarantor. If the creditor has a right of pledge or retention over a movable property of the debtor, he must pay himself on this object, unless the latter is assigned as security for other obligations of the debtor and is insufficient to pay all of them.
Article 1073
Art. 1073 - The surety may not request discussion of the principal debtor: 1) when it has formally waived the exception of discussion, in particular when it has undertaken a joint and several obligation with the principal debtor; 3) When the assets that can be discussed are disputed, or encumbered with mortgages that absorb a significant portion of their value, or are obviously insufficient to satisfy the creditor, or when the debtor has only a defeasible right to the assets.
Article 1074
Art. 1074 - The surety who requests discussion shall inform the creditor of the principal debtor's assets and ensure sufficient funds to proceed with the operation.
Article 1075
Article 1075 - When several persons have guaranteed the same debt by the same act, each of them is only obligated for his share and portion, and may therefore oppose the creditor with the benefit of division. Solidarity between guarantors only occurs if it has been stipulated, or when the guarantee was contracted separately by each of the guarantors for the entirety of the debt, or when it constitutes a commercial act on the part of the guarantors.
Article 1076
Art. 1076 - The surety of the surety is only liable to the creditor in the case where the principal debtor and all the sureties are insolvent or are released by means of personal exceptions to the debtor or the sureties.