Introduction

Role of the parties

Role of judge

Contentious matters

Concept

Powers of the judge

Principle of adversarial proceedings

Non-contentious matters

Underlying principles of civil proceedings

Right to bring civil action

Abuse of the right to bring proceedings

Type of action

Concept of action

Interest in bringing proceedings

Standing

Rules governing action

Legal action

Initial claim

Counterclaim

Additional claim

Intervention

Incidental claim

Interruption of limitation period

Application to file suit (demande en justice)

Defense on the merits

Procedural objections (exceptions de procédure)

Procedural bars to admissibility (fins de non-recevoir)

Defenses

Nature of claim

Amount of the claim

Jurisdiction ratione materiae

Principles

Exceptional territorial jurisdiction

Extension of jurisdiction

Territorial jurisdiction

Competent court

Formal requirements

Substantive requirements

Presentation of the QPC (Question prioritaire de constitutionnalité)

Referral to Court of Cassation

Referral to Constitutional Council

Referral of the QPC

Investigation procedure

Conduct of hearing

Decision of the Constitutional Council

Proceedings before Constitutional Council

Priority question of constitutionality (QPC)

Simplified case preparation procedure

Participative procedure for case preparation purposes

Extra-judicial case preparation

Recourse to technical expert

Agreements on extra-judicial case preparation (mise en état)

Disclosure of exhibits

Production of documents

Exhibits

Common provisions for investigations

Rules specific to each investigation

Investigative measures

Disputes concerning private deeds (actes sous seing privé)

Forgery procedure against authentic instruments

Challenges to documentary evidence

Oath sworn as decisive evidence

Oath tendered by way of supplementation

Judicial oath

Administration of evidence

Hearings

Deliberations

Judgment

Formation

Judgment after adversarial proceedings

Judgment by default or judgment after trial

Contentious or non-contentious judgment

Judgment on the merits or provisional ruling (avant dire droit)

Combined judgment

Provisional judgment

Judgment in fast track proceedings

Types

Joinder and severance of proceedings

Interruption of proceedings

Suspension of proceedings

Discontinuance of proceedings (extinction)

Procedural incidents

Plea of lack of jurisdiction

Recusal/Dismissal for legitimate suspicion

Challenging the judge's competence

General rules

Voluntary intervention

Compulsory intervention

Joinder in proceedings (intervention)

Existence of a judgment

Same subject matter, cause, and parties

Authority of res judicata

General conditions of enforcement

Provisional enforcement

Grace period

Enforcement of the judgment

Bearing of costs

Order to pay non-recoverable costs

Verification/Recovery

Claims/Disputes

Costs and expenses

Ordinary remedies

Extraordinary remedies

Remedies

Judgments

Calculation of time-limits

Acts of judicial commissioners

Service of documents

Ordinary notification

Notification between lawyers

International notification

Place of notification

Notification

Communication by electronic means

Procedural acts

1. Ordinary Law of Civil Procedure

Under the terms of Article 18 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the parties are free to defend themselves or to be represented. Representation in court may occur in the exercise of the action, also known as representation ad agendum, or may consist of the performance of procedural acts, known as representation ad litem. In the latter case, the action is exercised by the holder of the action, but the …

Right to defend oneself or be represented

Under the terms of Article 18 of the Code of Civil Procedure, the parties are free to defend themselves or to be represented. Representation in court may occur in the exercise of the action, also known as representation ad agendum, or may consist of the performance of procedural acts, known as representation ad litem. In the latter case, the action is exercised by the holder of the action, but the procedural acts are performed by an agent. Consequently, the legislator has established the principle that the parties are free to be represented or not by an agent ad litem.

However, this freedom has a number of limitations. Article 18 of the Code of Civil Procedure specifies that “the parties may defend themselves, subject to cases where representation is mandatory.” Representation is, unless otherwise provided, mandatory before the Judicial Court (Art. 760 CPC) and the Court of Appeal (Art. 899 CPC). However, the court retains the possibility of hearing the parties themselves (Art. 20 CPC) . The obligation to be represented serves the purpose of proper administration of justice given the complexity of the issues submitted to the court's assessment, which may require the intervention of a legal specialist in the interest of the parties. Thus, the Court of Cassation has held that mandatory representation by a lawyer at the Council of State and the Court of Cassation does not infringe upon the rights defined by the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms . Law No 2019-222 of 23 March 2019 and its implementing decree No 2019-1333 of 11 December 2019 reforming civil procedure have even extended mandatory representation to certain oral procedures and before certain specialized courts, such as the Commercial Court (Art. 853 CPC).

Cass. soc., 24 January 1990, LawLex202200005883JBJ.

Cass. 1re civ., 10 May 2000, LawLex202200008293JBJ.

1. Ordinary Law of Civil Procedure

16. Right to defend oneself or be represented

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Les notions juridiques connexes

16. Right to defend oneself or be represented

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

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