If the parties wish to join forces by setting up a partnership, they can do this also by setting up a limited partnership (hereafter referred to as an s.a.s.).
In general, the s.a.s. is governed by rules that govern the general partnership (for which in turn, reference is made to the rules laid down for informal partnerships), except for the specific provisions which will be examined below.
Such a partnership is characterised by the presence of two categories of partners:
- unlimited partners, exclusively responsible for the administration and running of the company. These have unlimited and joint liability for carrying out the corporate duties and, accordingly, are in a similar situation to that of the partners in general partnerships (s.n.c.);
- limited partners (silent partners), who are liable for the social security liabilities proportionately to their quota, providing they do not interfere with the administration of the partnership.
The s.a.s. is a type of partnership which may be utilised for carrying out both commercial and non-commercial activities (please refer to the section on informal partnerships).
As for the system of liability of the partnership and of the partners for the social security liabilities, the reader is referred back to the section on general partnerships (s.n.c.), pointing out that in limited partnerships the limited partners do not have any liability, providing they have not interfered in the administration.