An Honest Assessment
Institutional disruption in Haiti has been sustained and severe, and its effect on commercial recovery is straightforward: proceedings that can be issued cannot reliably be progressed, and orders that can be obtained cannot reliably be executed. A creditor budgeting for litigation is, in most cases, budgeting for cost without outcome.
That is not the same as saying the debt is gone. Haitian trading houses are long-established, many have been through previous crises and settled afterwards, and commercial reputation within a small import community carries real weight. The realistic objective is to be in a position to collect when circumstances allow, rather than to force collection now.
Keeping the Claim Alive
Three things need attention and none of them requires a court. First, limitation: Haitian law derives from the French civil tradition and commercial obligations prescribe, so the running of time is a genuine risk even where nothing else is moving. A written acknowledgement of the debt from the counterparty, or a part payment, is worth obtaining for that reason alone.
Second, evidence. Contracts, shipping documents, delivery receipts and correspondence should be consolidated now, in a form that will still be intelligible in several years, and ideally reconciled into a single agreed statement of account with the debtor.
Third, contact. A counterparty that has stopped answering because it cannot pay is a different problem from one that has stopped answering because it has been written off. Maintaining a low-key, non-adversarial channel keeps the first from becoming the second.
Whether a particular acknowledgement interrupts prescription on your facts is a matter for appropriately authorised local counsel.
Affiliates Outside Haiti
A significant number of Haitian trading groups maintain purchasing offices, family-held companies or bank accounts outside the country, commonly in the United States, the Dominican Republic or Panama.
Where the contracting entity is one of those, or where an offshore affiliate gave a guarantee, signed the purchase order or received the goods, the recovery analysis shifts to a jurisdiction where enforcement works normally. This is the single most valuable line of enquiry on a Haitian file and it is frequently overlooked, because creditors look at the delivery address rather than at the signature.
Gourde Depreciation
The gourde has depreciated substantially, which means a claim denominated in local currency loses value continuously while it waits. Where any settlement is negotiated, the currency and the reference rate should be fixed expressly, and a hard currency payment from an offshore account is worth accepting at a discount over a larger sum in gourdes.
What Does a Haitian Claim Realistically Involve?
| Stage | Typical Duration | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Limitation and evidence review Whether the claim survives, and what proves it | 2–4 weeks | Low |
| Affiliate identification Entities and accounts outside Haiti | 3–8 weeks | Low |
| Acknowledgement and reconciliation Agreed statement of account | 1–4 months | Low |
| Negotiated settlement Where a payment route exists | 3–12 months | Low |
| Domestic proceedings Currently unreliable | Not recommended | High |
How Does SXB Global Handle a Haitian Case?
We tell creditors plainly what is and is not achievable, then do the work that has value: keeping the claim within time, consolidating the evidence, identifying any entity outside Haiti and holding a channel open. Where legal proceedings become appropriate, SXB Global coordinates the instruction of appropriately authorised local counsel. Legal services are provided by the relevant independent legal professionals.